WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Lose to Mystics in Third Straight Loss, 76-83

Published on August 13, 2023 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


The Chicago Sky fell to the Washington Mystics 76-83 on Sunday inside Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington D.C. The loss is the Sky's third straight, their third losing streak of three or more games this season.

With the loss, the Sky drop to 12-18 on the season and now sit two games behind the Mystics in the Eastern Conference standings. Chicago is now 3-12 against the Eastern Conference and 7-8 on the road this season. Washington completed the season sweep of the Sky, winning all four games scheduled against the Sky this season. The Sky are now 33-34 against the Mystics all time.

In Sunday's game, Chicago's bigs crashed the glass all afternoon as Elizabeth Williams and Alanna Smith combined to bring down 22 rebounds. Elizabeth Williams grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds against the Mystics and added 14 points, recording her first double-double in a Sky uniform. Smith also recorded a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) and joined Marina Mabrey (15), Courtney Williams (13) and Kahleah Copper (17) as players in double figures.

Guard Brittney Sykes was the catalyst for the Mystics, putting up a game-high 30 points on 11 of 18 shooting from the floor, while putting up six assists, five steals and four rebounds. Sykes tallied a season high in scoring, previously scoring 29 against the Indiana Fever on July 7. This was Skyes' third career game scoring 30+ points, with her last 30+ scoring performance back on Aug. 14, 2022 against the Los Angeles Sparks in which she scored a career high 35 points.

Other highlights include:

Elizabeth Williams passed Asjha Jones (632) for 23rd on the all-time offensive rebounds list, finishing Sunday's game with 633

Kahleah Copper tied/passed Cheyenne Parker (754) for No. 6 on the Sky's all-time rebounds list

Queen Egbo scored a career high 16 points on 7 of 7 shooting off the bench

NEXT UP: The Sky conclude their three-game road trip with a matchup against the Atlanta Dream on Friday, Aug. 18 inside Gateway Center. The Dream hold a 3-0 season series lead over the Sky, winning their last matchup 88-77 in Chicago on July 9.

In that game, guard Rhyne Howard racked up 32 points, the most points scored by an opponent against the Sky this season, on 12 of 22 shooting (54.5%) while adding six rebounds, four assists, a block and four steals, one steal shy of her career high. Forward Cheyenne Parker notched an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double, picking up two blocks and a steal on the night. Guards Allisha Gray and Danielle Robinson each scored 11 points to help the Dream pick up the 11-point victory.

Sky guard Kahleah Copper put up a very efficient 28-point performance on 11 of 19 (57.9%) shooting. Courtney Williams and Elizabeth Williams combined to score 27 points as the Sky shot just 6 of 22 (27.3%) from behind the arc in the game.

KEY RUNS:

The Mystics went on a 11-2 scoring run from 6:05 to 2:54 in the second quarter

The Sky responded with a 9-1 run from 2:29 to 0:02 in the second quarter

The Mystics went on a 12-4 scoring run from 6:31 to 3:28 in the third quarter

KEY STATS:

The Dream outscored the Sky 14-6 in the paint in the first quarter

Every starter for both the Sky and the Mystics scored at least two points in the first half

The Mystics had a season high seven steals in the first half (Previous: four steals on June 30 vs. ATL)

The Mystics shot 16 free throw attempts in the first half, 11 more attempts than the Sky

The Mystics shot 0 for 11 from the three-point line in the first half, the worst first half shooting performance in the WNBA this season. The Seattle Storm (May 30) and the Indiana Fever (June 18) previously had the worst, each shooting 0 for 8 in the first half this season

The Mystics made 20 of their 24 free throw attempts, while the Sky made 12 of their 16 attempts

The Sky are shooting 39.3% from downtown on 24.3 attempts per game since the All-Star Break, including today's game

The Mystics outscored the Sky 23-7 in points off the bench

The Mystics outscored the Sky 46-30 in the paint

Each team racked up 17 turnovers in the game

CHICAGO NOTES:

Courtney Williams accounted for 10 of the Sky's 21 first quarter points (eight points scored, two points created from assists)

Courtney Williams accounted for 12 of the Sky's 21 fourth quarter points (two points scored, 10 points created from assists)

Elizabeth Williams accounted for seven of the Sky's 16 third quarter points (five points scored, two points created from assists)

Kahleah Copper reached 200 career made three-pointers

Copper led the Sky in scoring, her 11th game out of the Sky's last 13 games of leading the team in scoring

Copper scored 11 points in the fourth quarter

Alanna Smith reached 100 career offensive rebounds

All Sky starters scored double-digit points

Entering today's game, the Sky were 5-4 when Elizabeth Williams brought down seven or more boards, dropping to 5-5 in that regard (she had 12 boards in a loss)

WASHINGTON NOTES:

Shakira Austin played in her 50th career regular season game

Brittney Sykes is the second player in WNBA history with 30+ points, 6+ assists and 4+ steals while shooting 60.0% from the floor or better in a game (Across the Timeline)

Sykes racked up nine points in the first quarter

Sykes recorded three steals in the first quarter

Every Mystics player that played in the first half scored at least one point in the first half

Myisha Hines-Allen reached 250 career assists

Every Washington player scored in the game

Queen Egbo scored her third double-digit game since joining the Mystics

Egbo was the fourth player in WNBA history to record 16+ points, 7+ field goals made on 100.0% shooting, 3+ rebounds, 2+ steals and 1+ block. She did so in 16 minutes (Across the Timeline)

Egbo tied her career high in field goals made with seven

Egbo's 100.0% field goal percentage in today's game is her highest field goal percentage on her highest number of made field goals in her career




Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 13, 2023


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