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WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Fall to Fever in First Commissioner's Cup Game, 70-71

June 1, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


The Chicago Sky fell to the Indiana Fever 70-71 in the first Commissioner's Cup game of the season on Saturday, June 1 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Sky are now 3-4 on the season, 1-2 against the Eastern Conference, 2-2 on the road and 28-39 against the Fever all time.

Sky rookie center and No. 3 overall pick Kamilla Cardoso made her WNBA regular season and Chicago Sky debut. She finished with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. Chennedy Carter had her sixth straight game scoring in double figures after recording a season-high 19 points off the bench, leading the Sky in scoring.

Angel Reese had a career day for the Sky, pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds along with an all-time Sky rookie-high eight offensive rebounds. She also recorded eight points. Marina Mabrey posted 15 points and tied her career high of nine rebounds while Dana Evans recorded 12 points, four rebounds and four assists to round out the Sky's double-digit scorers.

The Fever were led in scoring by Kelsey Mitchell, who dropped a season-high 18 points. NaLyssa Smith recorded 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals while making 58.3% (7 of 12) of her shots from the field. 2024 No. 1 overall pick recorded 11 points on 36.4% (4 of 11) shooting after averaging 17.6 points per game through her first nine games this season. She also registered eight rebounds and six assists.

Other highlights include:

Aliyah Boston tied her career high for blocks in a game with four

Reese's eight offensive rebounds in Saturday's game moved her to seven straight games with three or more offensive rebounds to open a career. She ranks second all time for such game (Yolanda Griffith ranks first with 17 such games)

Reese's 35 offensive rebounds through seven games are the second-most all time through a seven game stretch to open a career (Griffith had 43 through her first seven career games) (Across the Timeline)

Clark became the third player in WNBA history to record 150 points, 50 rebounds and 50 assists within her team's first 10 games of a season, joining Penny Taylor (Phoenix, 2011) and Lindsay Whalen (Connecticut, 2008) (ESPN)

Elizabeth Williams tied Taj McWilliams-Franklin for 10th on the WNBA's all-time blocks list with 443 after Saturday's game

Carter led the Sky in scoring and assists for the first time this season

NEXT UP : The Sky return to Wintrust Arena for a second matchup against the New York Liberty this season. The matchup will be Chicago's second Commissioner's Cup game after falling to Indiana on Saturday.

In the first matchup between the two teams, Chicago defeated New York 90-81 on the road. In that game, Marina Mabrey led the Sky in scoring with 21 points to go along with a team-high seven assists and six boards. The Sky had five players score in double figures, alongside Mabrey. Angel Reese recorded 13 points and nine rebounds, Chennedy Carter posted 12 points off the bench and Dana Evans scored 12. Michaela Onyenwere made the first start of the season and of her Sky career and recorded 13 points.

The Liberty had three players go for over 10 points and five assists. Former Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot scored 10 points to go along with seven assists while Sabrina Ionescu led the team in scoring with 19 and had six assists. Breanna Stewart notched 18 points, five assists and a team-high 10 rebounds.

Chicago is 35-32 against the Liberty all time and is 1-0 against them this season. The game between the Sky and the Liberty tips off at 7 p.m. CST and will be broadcast nationally on NBA TV. The game will be available locally on WMEU-TV and the Marquee Sports Network App.

KEY RUNS:

The Fever went on a 14-6 run from 7:07 to 2:03 in the first quarter

The Sky countered with a 15-4 run from 8:04 to 3:03 in the second quarter

The Fever went on a 9-0 run from 2:22 to 0:50 to close the second quarter

The Sky went on an 11-3 run from 3:16 to 0:07 in the fourth quarter

KEY STATS:

The Sky had 24 rebounds in the first half, their season high for rebounds in a half (Previous: 22 rebounds in the second half of the May 18 matchup against Dallas)

The Sky's 14 rebounds in the first quarter were also their season high for rebounds in a quarter (Previous: 13 rebounds in a quarter, three times)

The Fever stole the ball four times in the third quarter

The Sky pulled down a season-high 43 rebounds

The Sky out-rebounded the Fever 43-33

Chicago pulled down 12 offensive rebounds, scoring 13 second-chance points

Chicago out-scored Indiana 33-5 in bench points

CHICAGO NOTES:

Dana Evans accounted for eight of the Sky's 14 points in the first quarter (four points, four points created from assists)

Marina Mabrey scored seven of the Sky's 16 points in the third quarter

Chennedy Carter accounted for eight of the Sky's 16 points in the third quarter (six points, two points created from assists)

Carter accounted for 11 of the Sky's 21 points in the fourth quarter (seven points, four points created from assists)

Carter's 19 points are her most since July 28, 2022, when she was on Los Angeles's roster

Angel Reese pulled down seven of her 13 rebounds in the fourth quarter

Reese pulled down four of her eight offensive boards in the fourth quarter

INDIANA NOTES:

Kelsey Mitchell created five of the Fever's 17 points in the first quarter from assists

Mitchell scored seven of the Fever's 18 points in the second quarter

Mitchell scored seven of the Fever's 17 points in the fourth quarter

Caitlin Clark accounted for eight of the Fever's 18 points in the second quarter (two points, six points created from assists)

NaLyssa Smith accounted for 10 of the Fever's 18 points in the second quarter (seven points, three points created from assists)

Aliyah Boston pulled down four offensive rebounds in the third quarter

Check out the Chicago Sky Statistics

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