Sky Drop Third Straight Heading into All-Star Break, 72-84 to Connecticut
Published on July 12, 2023 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release
FINAL SCORE: CHI 72, CON 84
CHICAGO SKY (8-12) vs. CONNECTICUT SUN (15-5)
WINTRUST ARENA | WNBA REGULAR SEASON | GAME #20 | JULY 12, 2023
TEAM HIGH POINTS HIGH ASSISTS HIGH REBOUNDS
CHI K. Copper (22) C. Williams (6) C. Williams, E. Williams (8)
CON T. Hayes (22) A. Thomas (10) T. Hayes (7)
TODAY'S GAME HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: The Chicago Sky fell to the Connecticut Sun, 84-72, for their third straight loss and second loss to the Sun this season.The Sky moves to 17-15 all time against the Sun. Chicago is now 0-2 against Connecticut this season and 3-10 against the Eastern Conference. The Sky are now 4-7 at home this season.
In Wednesday's game, Kahleah Copper led the way in scoring for the Sky, putting up 22 points and adding four assists and three rebounds. Elizabeth Williams came one point shy of her season high in scoring by scoring 16 points. Elizabeth Williams also recorded eight rebounds, five blocks and two steals. Her seven combined blocks and steals are her most in a game this season.
Dream guard Tiffany Hayes tied a season high in scoring with 22 points while adding seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Forwards DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas also combined to score 40 points (Bonner - 21, Thomas - 19).
Other highlights include:
DeWanna Bonner passed Renee Montgomery (532) for 12th on the all-time three-pointers list, finishing today with two made threes and 534 career three pointers
Bonner passed Nneka Ogwumike (2,170) for 12th on the all-time field goals made list with 8 made, and 2,176 career field goals
Copper tied a career high in three-pointers made in a game with five threes, going 5 of 9 from downtown (Previously set this career high on 6/4/23 against the New York Liberty)
Alyssa Thomas notched a 19-point, 10-assist double-double and was three rebounds away from a triple-double
With five blocks today, Elizabeth Williams became the 12th player in WNBA regular season history with 400+ blocks. She is three blocks behind Michelle Snow (404) for 11th-most in WNBA regular season history (Across the Timeline)
NEXT UP: The Sky do not play from July 13-19 as the 2023 All-Star Break commences. The Sky have one player participating in All-Star festivities: Kahleah Copper, who is making her third straight and third overall appearance in the All-Star Game. Copper is suiting up for Team Breanna Stewart.
AT&T WNBA All-Star 2023 will be played in Las Vegas at Michelob ULTRA Arena, home of the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, July 15. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted on ABC.
After that, the Sky travel to Phoenix to take on the Mercury on Thursday, July 20 for their second matchup of the season. Chicago previously defeated Phoenix on the road on March 21. In that game, every Sky starter scored at least eight points, with Copper leading the charge for Chicago with 15.
In the previous matchup between the two teams, Brittney Griner made her 2023 home debut and first appearance since the 2021 season. In her long-awaited 2023 debut, Griner led the Mercury in scoring with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. The second matchup this season between the Sky and the Mercury tips off at 9 p.m. CT on July 20 and will be broadcasted on NBA TV.
KEY RUNS:
The Sky opened the game on a 7-1 run from 9:30 to 6:50 in the first quarter
The Sun went on an 19-8 run from 5:27 to 0:15 in the first quarter
The Sky went on an 18-7 run to end the second quarter (from 6:31 to 0:00.4)
The Sun went on a 19-7 run from 7:46 to 2:17 in the third quarter
The Sun went on a 19-8 run from 1:41 in the third quarter to 3:52 in the fourth.
The Sky went on a 10-1 run from 3:02 to 0:50 in the fourth quarter
KEY STATS:
The Sun missed their first eight field goal attempts, before making nine of their next 12
The Sky started the game shooting 3 of 6 (50.0%) against the Sun, but after that point, shot 10 of 26 (38.5%) in the first half
The Sky committed seven personal fouls in the first quarter
The Sky are now 3-10 when outscored in the paint, having been outscored 30-46 in the paint today
Entering Wednesday's game, the Sky were 6-1 when leading at halftime. The Sky led the Sun 38-36 at halftime but ultimately fell 72-84, falling to 6-2 in such situations
After being outscored by 12 points and 10 points in the fourth quarters of both Atlanta games on 7/7 and 7/9, Chicago closed out its three-game home stint by being outscored by three points (22-19) in the fourth quarter against Connecticut
The Sky are averaging 13 points in fourth quarters in their last three games
The Sun scored 26 points off 18 Chicago turnovers compared to the Sky, who scored 13 points off 11 Sun turnovers
CHICAGO NOTES:
Marina Mabrey accounted for seven of the Sky's 17 first quarter points (five points, two points created from assists)
Elizabeth Williams scored six of her 16 points in the first quarter
Elizabeth Williams' five blocks were her 17th regular season game with five or more blocks, tying Sylvia Fowles for fifth-most all time (Across the Timeline)
Courtney Williams accounted for 10 of the Sky's 21 second quarter points (six points, four points created from assists)
Kahleah Copper accounted for 10 of the Sky's 21 second quarter points (eight points, two points created from assists)
Copper scored seven points in the third quarter
Copper passed Jia Perkins (465) for fourth in franchise history in three-pointers attempted (468)
Alanna Smith reached 200 career defensive rebounds
The Sky, who averaged 14.8 turnovers per game entering Wednesday's game, recorded nine turnovers in the first half and ended with 18
The Sky had 16 turnovers through the first three quarters
Chicago swatted five of its seven blocked shots in the fourth quarter
Dana Evans accounted for 13 of the Sky's 23 fourth-quarter points (six points, seven points created from assists)
CONNECTICUT NOTES:
Alyssa Thomas reached 250 career starts
Thomas accounted for 12 of the Sun's 22 points in the first quarter (seven points, five points created from assists)
Thomas accounted for 14 of the Sun's 27 points in the third quarter (eight points, six points created from assists)
Thomas's 19-point, 10-assist, seven-rebound showing was the third game in her WNBA regular season career with 15+ points, 10+ assists and 7+ rebounds, trailing only Courtney Vandersloot (seven) and Candace Parker (four) (Across the Timeline)
Olivia Nelson-Ododa reached 50 career games played
Tiffany Hayes accounted for eight of the Sun's 22 first quarter points (four points, four points created from assists)
Hayes recorded four offensive rebounds in the first half, snapping her previous career high for offensive boards in a half (Previous: two, 35 times, most recently in the first half of a 6/8/23 matchup with the Las Vegas Aces)
Hayes scored eight of the Sun's 12 points in the second quarter
Hayes, Thomas and Bonner combined for 30 of the Sun's 36 first half points (Hayes - 12, Thomas - 11, Bonner - 7)
Hayes tied Sophia Young-Malcolm for 23rd on all-time free throw attempts list with 1,331
Bonner accounted for nine of the Sun's 22 points in the first quarter (seven points, two points created from assists)
Bonner scored 10 points in the third quarter on 4 of 6 shooting. Bonner had seven points on 2 of 7 shooting in the first half
The Sun, who ranked first in steals with 8.2 steals per game entering Wednesday's game, recorded five steals in the first half
Rebecca Allen reached 1,000 career points, ending today's game with five points
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 12, 2023
- Horston Tallies Career-High 23, But Storm Can't Slow Red-Hot Dream - Seattle Storm
- Minnesota Lynx vs. Dallas Wings Postgame Notes - Minnesota Lynx
- Aces Play at Los Angeles for Final Game Before All-Star Break - Las Vegas Aces
- Fever Rally Falls Short in Overtime on Wednesday Afternoon against New York - Indiana Fever
- Wings Crush Minnesota in Matinee Blowout - Dallas Wings
- AT&T WNBA All-Star 2023 by the Numbers - WNBA
- Sky Drop Third Straight Heading into All-Star Break, 72-84 to Connecticut - Chicago Sky
- Liberty Clinch Commissioner's Cup Championship Berth with 95-87 Win - New York Liberty
- Connecticut Sun Pick up 84-72 Road-Win over Chicago Sky - Connecticut Sun
- NBA, WNBA and Fiba to Host First All-Girls Basketball Without Borders Camp for Top Female Prospects as Part of AT&T WNBA All-Star 2023 - WNBA
- Young, Gray, Wilson Top 20 Points Each as Aces Upend Mercury 98-72 - Las Vegas Aces
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