Sky Face Storm for First Time this Season
WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Face Storm for First Time this Season

July 23, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


The Sky return home Thursday, July 24 to host the Seattle Storm. The matchup is the first of three games the teams will play each other this season.

This year Seattle (14-10) has proven it can compete with any team in the league, with statement wins over Minnesota and New York earlier in the season. More recently, the Storm are looking to get back in the win column after they suffered a 63-87 loss against Dallas on Tuesday.

Seattle is led by a trio of veterans who all participated in the WNBA's All-Star game last week in Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams. Diggins, who recorded the first ever triple-double in an All-Star game, averages 17.5 points and is fifth in the league with 5.8 assists per game. Seattle was without Diggins on Tuesday in the loss, but she is not on the injury report heading into Thursday.

Ogwumike and Williams have been key in Seattle's success this year and are both players the Sky will look to contain. Ogwumike has been dominant in her 14th season in the league averaging 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds on 51.1% shooting from the field. Williams is having one of the best seasons of her career, averaging 13.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

In the offseason, the Storm picked up veteran guard Erica Wheeler who has been impactful as a starter averaging 10.9 points, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals. Seattle had the No. 2 overall draft pick this year, drafting Dominique Malonga. She is a key contributor off the bench, averaging 9.0 points on 46.7% shooting.

Heading into Thursday's game, look for the Sky to try and capitalize off Seattle'spoor shooting as of late. In the past three games the Storm are shooting 33.2% from the field and just 26.6% from three-point range.

Chicago has had the hot-hand from deep, shooting 40.8% over their last three games. Kia Nurse picked up where she left off before the All-Star break as she went 3 of 5 from three in Chicago's game against Minnesota on Tuesday. Nurse finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Although the Sky haven't been in the victory column during those games, they're finding their shot from deep.

Both teams utilize the paint at the center of their offense, but the Sky could take advantage of the Storm giving up the second-most points in the paint with 36.8 per game. The Sky also have the rebounding advantage, averaging 36.6 per game, which is fourth-best in the league.

Despite the Sky's loss on Tuesday, the duo of Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso had strong performances, each recording a double-double. They both will be key in solidifying the paint for the Sky against Williams, Ogwumike and Malonga.

Historically, the two teams match up well against each other with Seattle holding the slight edge in the series 26-21. The teams played each other three times last season, with Chicago going 1-2 against Seattle.

What to watch for the Sky: A focus on ball protection.

If the Sky are to get the win they will have to limit their turnovers against Seattle's defense. The Storm are third in the league with 8.4 steals per game. In the Sky's game on Tuesday at Minnesota they had 23 turnovers as a team, giving up 20 points. The Sky have proven they can take care of the ball when they went through a four-game stretch in June, where they averaged just 11.7 turnovers per game.

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 23, 2025


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