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WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Playoff Run Cut Short With Game 3 Loss

September 22, 2015 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


ROSEMONT - When the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever met for a decisive game 3 on Monday night inside the Allstate Arena, all eyes were on WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne. In the first two games of the series, the Fever held Delle Donne well below her season average with 12.5 points per game. The league's leading scorer responded with a 40-point scoring outburst, however, it wasn't enough to outpace the Fever as Indiana knocked off Chicago 100-89 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

"It's shocking," said Delle Donne. "We definitely didn't expect to be here and talking about exit physicals and exit meetings. I think the last game Indiana got a lot of momentum and they just carried it through and I expect them to carry it through the rest of playoffs. They're a great team."

It was clear from the tip Delle Donne was going to have a special night. In the opening eight minutes, she scored 14 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field. As a team, the Sky shot 70.6% in the first quarter but the Fever stayed close with balanced scoring from their starting five.

The score was tied (28-28) entering the second quarter until Chicago used a 6-2 run to extend what would be its largest lead of the night, 34-30. Delle Donne continued to pace the Sky with seven points in the second quarter and didn't miss her first shot until there was 3:20 remaining in the first half. The Fever closed the half on a 10-5 run to take a 52-47 advantage at the break.

Chicago fought back in the second half but was unable to regain the lead. Courtney Vandersloot continued to find Delle Donne in open areas in the second half. She added 19 points in the half but the closest the Sky would get was within six points (93-87) on a Cappie Pondexter layup with one minute remaining in regulation. On the ensuing two Indiana possessions, Erlana Larkins split a pair of free throws and Tamika Catchings nailed a jumper to seal the deal for Indiana 100-89.

"I think our main objective is always to win, no matter what, that's just the competitive nature of a basketball player especially at an elite level," said Pondexter. "Unfortunately, it didn't go the way we wanted it to go but that doesn't mean that we should stop. We have a whole year to individually get better, remember what our goal is moving forward, and the sky is the limit."

Delle Donne led all scorers in the game with a playoff career high 40 points. Vandersloot finished with a playoff career high 14 assists while the Sky's back-to-back Sixth Woman of the Year, Allie Quigley, added 18 points off the bench.

Indiana will advance to face the winner of the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between Washington and New York. If New York advances to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Conference Finals will move up and begin on Wednesday, September 23 at 7pm on ESPN2. If New York does not advance, the Eastern Conference Finals will begin on Thursday, September 24 TBD time on ESPN2.

Postgame Notes:

Chicago Sky 89, Indiana Fever 100

NOTES

- Elena Delle Donne led all scorers with a playoff career-high 40 points in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Her 40 points is a franchise record along with the third highest points scored in a WNBA playoff game. It is also the most against the Fever in the postseason. Delle Donne's previous playoff career-high was 34 points versus Atlanta on August 26, 2014. She finished the 2015 WNBA Playoffs averaging 21.7 points per game, which is fourth-best in the 2015 Playoffs.

- Courtney Vandersloot shattered her previous playoff career high of nine assists tonight. Vandersloot recorded 14 assists, which is the most in franchise playoff history and tied for the most assists recorded in a WNBA playoff game. Sue Bird tallied 14 assists against the Sacramento Monarchs on October 5, 2004. Vandersloot leads the 2015 WNBA Playoffs with 8.3 assists per game.

- The Sky's bench outscored Indiana's 20-6 led by Sixth Woman of the Year Allie Quigley's 18 points. Chicago's 89 total points is the most points the Sky has scored in playoffs in franchise history.

- Elena Delle Donne's 15 made field goals and 22 field goal attempts are playoff career highs for the league's MVP. Additionally, Delle Donne set playoff career highs in three-pointers made (5) and attempted (10).

- The Sky's 36 made field goals are the most in franchise playoff history. Chicago also set a franchise playoff high in assists with a team total of 25. The Sky tied its franchise high in made three-point field goals (7), a record that was first set against Indiana in Game 3 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals.

- Tonight's game was the first time in playoff history that the Sky has shot perfectly from the free throw line. Chicago finished 10-of-10 from the free throw line.

- Indiana Head Coach Stephanie White secured her first playoff series win. White is the third head coach in WNBA history to record 20 or more regular season wins in his or her first year. Indiana will head to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive year, matching a WNBA record. It is the Fever's eighth appearance in the conference finals in the past 11 seasons.

- Former MVP Tamika Catchings scored her 1,000th playoff point with a jumper at the 9:21 mark of the second quarter. Catchings is the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in the postseason. She finished with a team-high 27 points in her 24th career playoff game with at least 20 points. It was her highest scoring output since another 27-point game in a Game 2 win in the 2012 WNBA Finals.

- Shenise Johnson scored a playoff career-high 22 points in Indiana's 100-89 victory. Her previous playoff career high was 11 points, which was recorded on September 17, 2015 against the Sky and tied on September 19, 2015. Erlana Larkins scored a playoff career-high 18 points. Her previous playoff career high was 16 points against Minnesota on October 14, 2012.

QUOTES

Chicago Sky Head Coach and General Manager Pokey Chatman

(Opening statement...)

"I thought from the very beginning we allowed Indiana to become very comfortable offensively, to the tune of knocking down comfortable shots, shooting a high percentage, and once you get to that point, you find the courage to take shots you don't normally take. They showed why they're the number one three point shooting team in the league I think we shot 57 percent and they shot 58 percent but they did a better job of attacking us and making us commit those 18 fouls."

(On Elena Delle Donne scoring 40 points...)

"Elena (Delle Donne) took what was given to her. There wasn't a quick double team, it was a lot of different things. You got Cappie (Pondexter) with the ball and they don't want to leave her (open); it's just different things."

(On what this game teaches Elena Delle Donne as far as leadership....)

"It's not just about the game, it's about the process of the entire season. That leadership stuff comes out so much during the game and it's not just Elena (Delle Donne). It's Cappie (Pondexter) whether she's in the game or on the bench, concussion or not, it's before I get to the huddle. I think that's just an ongoing process."

(On Tamika Catchings...)

"She has an ability to bring her team up and give them confidence in areas that are not necessarily the pretty areas. The loose balls, the diving on the floor, the getting to the free throw line; it impacts a team, it impacts a game, it impacts a season."

Chicago Sky Guard Cappie Pondexter

(On the team's progress this season...)

"People tend to forget that even though last year this team went to the Finals, it's a totally different team. So there's a building process when you're trying to win a championship. We had a great year with a lot of spectacular players with accolades and the MVP of the WNBA, but it's a process with the chemistry that we're building."

(On what to expect next season...)

"I think our main objective is always to win, no matter what, that's just the competitive nature of a basketball player especially at an elite level. Unfortunately, it didn't go the way we wanted it to go but that doesn't mean that we should stop. We have a whole year to individually get better, remember what our goal is moving forward, and the sky is the limit."

(On what the team can do to improve on defense...)

"Moving forward just figuring players to match the court that we have to make us better individually. That's a process that we have to leave to our coaches and general managers to build that kind of team for us. I think we're solid. I like our core, I think we're tough. But when it comes to defense it's something that has to do with pride and wanting to get stops."

Chicago Sky Forward Elena Delle Donne

(On the Sky's current position...)

"It's shocking. We definitely didn't expect to be here and talking about exit physicals and exit meetings. I think the last game Indiana got a lot of momentum and they just carried it through and I expect them to carry it through the rest of playoffs. They're a great team. Tamika [Catchings] obviously makes them believe things that they probably never thought they could do and that's what makes her so special aside from her talent."

(On the Fever's adjustment...)

"They're just playing playoff basketball and they're all clicking right now. I think they're peaking at the perfect time and when you look at all their players, they've got great pieces to that puzzle and I think they were just waiting to come alive."

(On the growth of the team...)

"This by far has been my favorite team to play on. It's just a special group of players and that's what will stand out the most. Obviously, this stings right now but we have such an incredible group and we've grown so much this season."

(On the Sky's defense...)

"Our defense is something that would be up and down and inconsistent throughout the whole season and tonight that showed. You can't allow a team to score 100 points, so that's going to be the focus right from the start next season."

Indiana Fever Head Coach Stephanie White

(On Tamika Catchings...)

"I cannot say enough about the warrior mentality of our leader. She wills our teams and always has willed our teams to do things that many do not think our teams are capable of doing."

(On Erlana Larkins' performance...)

"This is the player we have been used to having. She has not been healthy all year long and I do not know if she is finally healthy or she is just like 'screw it, I have to go out and play hurt.' The intensity she plays with, the energy she plays with - she is our defensive quarterback."

(On what she is most pleased with...)

"One of my favorite things is the assist-to-made field goal ratio. 24 assists on 37 made field goals tonight. I felt like we have done a very good job of sharing the ball. We are unselfish, we share the basketball. We try to get great shots instead of good shots... Really pleased with our team defensively."

(On what Indiana did differently tonight than in Game 1...)

"We wanted to try to keep them off balance in the screen-and-roll. They are great players and great players make great plays. [Courtney Vandersloot] hurt us but she hurt us in different ways than she hurt us the first two games... If you get them to hit contested shots, you have to live with it and they did - and we were very fortunate we hit contested shots tonight."

Indiana Fever Forward Tamika Catchings

(Opening statement...)

"I'm really proud of my teammates. Coming into this series, no one thought we would win. And the first game we came out, everyone was so tense and we went back home and really talked about having fun. No one expects us to win we might as well come out might as well have fun and go out with a bang, I'm just so proud of my team, the focus that we had offensive and defense...[Erlana] Larkins, can't say enough about her, just how productive she's been the last couple games, that what we expect from her now. I told her now that you're doing it, you got to keep going."

(On Elena Delle Donne's 40-point game...)

"I knew Elena [Delle Donne] was going to have a good game today; you can't hold someone like that, with all the weapons that she has. We have been blessed with the last couple games that she hasn't really produced like she did tonight, but tonight was her night. Elena got her touches, she got her baskets, but that's what you expect from the MVP. And she's a great player all around and definitely a hard match up for all of us."

(On the team's synergy...)

"We wanted to come out with a lot more energy. Steph [Head Coach Stephanie White] has done a great job all season long just playing the whole bench. Everyone has played every single game and I feel that has really prepared us as a team because even down the stretch, once we got going, different people came out that maybe you wouldn't have expected to see. But I felt like everybody on our bench was ready to play and everyone came out and was productive tonight. That's how you're going to win, you win with the team not just five players or six players or seven players."

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