Sky Lose 104-108 to Mercury in Preseason Game in South Dakota
WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Lose 104-108 to Mercury in Preseason Game in South Dakota

Published on April 25, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


In the Chicago Sky's first preseason game, the team fell to the Phoenix Mercury 104-108 inside Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Saturday, April 25.

Tonight's game marked the first-ever WNBA game in South Dakota. The Sky are now 0-1 in the preseason.

The Sky had five players score in double figures in tonight's matchup. Hailey Van Lith led the Sky with 20 points, shooting 8 for 8 from the field while adding three assists. Rickea Jackson scored 15 points in her Sky debut to go along with three rebounds and two assists.

Rookie Gabriela Jaquez recorded 12 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and added three rebounds in 19 minutes in her first professional appearance. Rachel Banham scored 12 points, knocking down three three-pointers. Kamilla Cardoso closed out the Sky's top performers with 10 points, four rebounds.

Kahleah Copper, Kiana Williams, Kara Dunn and Quionche Carter all scored in double figures for the Mercury, with Copper's 19 points leading the team. Williams scored 16 points while rookies Dunn and Carter added 13 and 10 points respectively. Ashten Prechtel notched nine points, three rebounds and two steals.

More highlights include:

Tonight's game was the first preseason matchup all time between the Sky and the Mercury

Hailey Van Lith had a perfect game from the field and her 20 points would have been her regular season career high

Skylar Diggins, Jacy Sheldon, Rickea Jackson and Jordan Hobbs each made their Sky debuts while Gabriela Jaquez, Aicha Coulibaly, Latasha Lattimore, Sidney Cooks, Sydney Taylor, Megan Nestor and Tonie Morgan each made their WNBA debuts

NEXT UP: The Sky conclude their two-game preseason slate on Wednesday, April 29 against the Atlanta Dream at Wintrust Arena at 6 p.m. CT.

The Sky and Dream have played each other twice before in the preseason, splitting the series.

After the preseason, the Sky open the regular season on Saturday, May 9 on the road against the Portland Fire inside Moda Center at 8 p.m. CT. That game kicks off the four-game road trip that begins the Sky's regular season. The home opener is May 20 against the Dallas Wings.

KEY RUNS:

The Mercury went on a 12-4 run from 6:05 to 3:42 in the first quarter

Phoenix went on a 20-8 run from 8:39 to 3:27 in the third quarter

The Sky went on a 13-4 run from 3:27 to 0:30 in the third quarter

After being outscored 22-29 in the first quarter, Chicago wasn't outscored in any other quarter

KEY STATS:

The Sky shot 50.8% from the field (30 of 59), 37.5% from three (6 of 16) and 38 of 48 (79.2%) from the free throw line

Both teams combined to shoot 86 free throw attempts

Phoenix shot 44.4% from the three-point line (15 of 34) and 49.2 (31 of 63) from the field

Chicago scored 42.9% of its points from the free-throw line in the first half

Phoenix led as many as 12 and Chicago fought back, making it a tight game until the last second

The Mercury scored 18 points off the Sky's 14 turnovers while Chicago scored 13 points off 16 turnovers

Chicago outscored Phoenix in points in paint 30-24

Phoenix recorded 13 second chance points to Chicago's 8

Both teams combined for a total of 30 turnovers

CHICAGO NOTES:

Skylar Diggins accounted for eight of Chicago's 22 points in the first quarter (four points, four points created from assists)

Rachel Banham accounted for 12 of Sky's 27 points in the second quarter, going a perfect 3 for 3 from downtown

Rickea Jackson had nine free throws made in the first half after making seven in the second quarter alone

Hailey Van Lith scored all 20 of her points in the second half

Van Lith accounted for 14 points of Chicago's 28 points in the third quarter (six points, three assists, seven points created by assists)

Van Lith accounted for 12 points of Sky's 27 points in the fourth quarter

Gabriela Jaquez accounted for 10 points of Chicago's 27 points in the fourth quarter

PHOENIX NOTES:

Kahleah Copper scored 16 of the Mercury's 29 points in the first quarter

Alyssa Thomas accounted for 20 of Phoenix's 29 points in the first quarter (four points, six assists, 16 points created from assists)

Thomas recorded eight assists in the first half

Ashten Prechtel scored eight points in the third quarter

Kara Dunn accounted for 11 points of Mercury 27 points in the third quarter (eight points, one assist, three points created from assists)

Kiana Williams scored 10 of Phoenix's 27 points in the third quarter

Check out the Chicago Sky Statistics

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