Sky Fall 75-80 to Lynx in Close Matchup, Rachel Banham Scores Season-High 20
July 6, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release
The Chicago Sky fell to the Minnesota Lynx 75-80 inside Target Center on Sunday, July 6. The Sky are now 5-12 on the season, 3-8 on the road, 4-5 against the Western Conference and 18-28 against the Lynx all time.
The Sky held their own against the league-leading Lynx, leading by 14 in the first quarter and staying in the game until the final buzzer. Rachel Banham recorded a season-high 20 points and six made three-pointers (60.0%) to lead the Sky in scoring in her home state of Minnesota. She went 4 for 4 from three in the first half.
Angel Reese stuffed the stat sheet on Sunday, recording 16 points, 17 rebounds and six assists, extending her league-record streak of consecutive games with 15+ rebounds to five. All five of the Sky's starters scored in double figures. Ariel Atkins notched 11 points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Elizabeth Williams posted 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists for the Sky. Michaela Onyenwere, making her second start of the season, recorded 11 points and eight rebounds.
Courtney Williams led the Lynx in scoring with a season-high 25 points. She also tallied eight rebounds and six assists. Napheesa Collier added 21 points, seven rebounds and two blocks while Diamond Miller added 10 points off the bench.
Other highlights include:
In her last eight games, Angel Reese is averaging 5.4 assists per game
Courtney Williams passed Vickie Johnson (1,205 career assists) for 24th on the WNBA's all-time assists list with 1,206 after Sunday's game
The Lynx moved to 11-0 at home this season, the best start in their franchise's history
NEXT UP: The Sky close out a stretch of four road games with a matchup against the Washington Mystics on Tuesday, July 8. The Sky are 0-1 against the Mystics this season and 34-38 against them all time.
In the first game between the two teams, Brittney Sykes scored 32 points, five assists and three steals to lead the Mystics in a 72-79 Sky loss. The Sky were led in scoring by Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese in that game. The two players combined for 35 points and 20 rebounds, each tallying a double-double. Ariel Atkins added 10 points, seven assists, two steals and a career-high four blocks.
The second game between the two teams tips off at 10:30 a.m. CT inside EagleBank Arena on Tuesday, July 6. The game will be available locally on The U.
KEY RUNS:
The Sky went on a 22-9 run from 6:13 in the first quarter to 9:04 in the second quarter
Chicago outscored Minnesota 24-10 in the first quarter
Minnesota went on an 24-8 run from 9:04 to 1:15 in the second quarter
The Lynx outscored the Sky 28-13 in the second quarter
The Sky went on an 8-0 run from 5:14 to 2:40 in the third quarter
KEY STATS:
The Mystics shot 17 free throws, making 14 of their attempts (82.4%) while the Sky shot eight free throws, making seven of them (87.5%)
The Lynx recorded three blocks in the second quarter
Minnesota notched four blocks in the fourth quarter
In total, the Lynx blocked 10 shots compared to the Sky's two
The Sky pulled down a season-high 45 rebounds
The Sky recorded 14 offensive rebounds, scoring 11 second-chance points while the Lynx totaled eight offensive boards and scored six points off them
Chicago shot 10 of 23 (43.5%) from three while Washington connected on six of their 25 three-point attempts (24.0%)
The Sky shot 34.5% on their two-point attempts
The Lynx outscored the Sky 19-5 in bench points
CHICAGO NOTES:
Angel Reese accounted for 15 of the Sky's 24 points in the first quarter (six points, nine points created from four assists)
Rachel Banham accounted for eight of the Sky's 24 points in the first quarter (three points, five points from assists)
Banham scored nine of the Sky's 13 points in the second quarter
Banham went 4 for 4 from three in the first half, scoring 12 points
Banham (five points in fourth quarter), Reese (six points in fourth quarter) and Michaela Onyenwere (five points in fourth quarter) combined for 16 of the Sky's 23 points in the period
Elizabeth Williams scored six points in the first quarter
Ariel Atkins accounted for eight of the Sky's 15 points in the third quarter (three points, five points from assists)
MINNESOTA NOTES:
Kayla McBride created six points off three assists in the first quarter
Courtney Williams accounted for 14 of the Lynx's 28 points in the second quarter (seven points, seven points created from assists)
Williams scored 11 of the Lynx's 18 points in the third quarter
Diamond Miller accounted for 10 of Minnesota's 28 points in the second quarter (six points on two made threes, four points created from assists)
Napheesa Collier scored nine of Minnesota's 24 points in the fourth quarter
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 6, 2025
- Sky Fall 75-80 to Lynx in Close Matchup, Rachel Banham Scores Season-High 20 - Chicago Sky
- Williams Flashes All-Star Credentials in Win over New York - Seattle Storm
- Game Preview: Dallas Wings at Phoenix Mercury - July 7 - Dallas Wings
- Las Vegas Aces Claim 86-68 Victory on the Road against the Connecticut Sun - Las Vegas Aces
- Connecticut Drops Home Contest to Las Vegas, 86-68 - Connecticut Sun
- Postgame Notes: New York 70, Seattle 79 - New York Liberty
- Sky Face Lynx for First of Four Matchups in July - Chicago Sky
- Mitchell Completes Trio of Fever All-Stars - Indiana Fever
- Sky Forward Angel Reese Named 2025 WNBA All-Star - Chicago Sky
- Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell Selected to 2025 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game - Indiana Fever
- Seattle Storm's Skylar Diggins and Phoenix Mercury's Alyssa Thomas Highlight Reserves for 2025 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game - WNBA
- Kelsey Plum Selected 2025 All-Star by WNBA Coaches - Los Angeles Sparks
- Kayla Thornton Named to the 2025 WNBA All-Star Roster - Golden State Valkyries
- Sonia Citron & Kiki Iriafen Named to 2025 WNBA All-Star Game - Washington Mystics
- Alyssa Thomas Selected as 2025 WNBA All-Star - Phoenix Mercury
- Rhyne Howard Named 2025 AT&T WNBA All-Star - Atlanta Dream
- Las Vegas Aces Guard Jackie Young Named to Fourth Consecutive WNBA All-Star Team - Las Vegas Aces
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