Sky Secure Road Win over Mercury, 77-66
WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Secure Road Win over Mercury, 77-66

Published on July 8, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


The Chicago Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury 77-66 in Mortgage Matchup Center on Tuesday, July 7. The Sky are now 7-14 on the season, 6-7 against the Western Conference, 4-7 on the road and 19-33 against the Mercury all time.

Backed by a well-rounded offensive display, Tyler Marsh's squad led for over 36 minutes to secure the 11-point win - their third in the last five games. Led by rookie standout Sydney Taylor's 16 points, seven players finished with at least seven points in a balanced showing.

Taylor, who continues to fortify her case for Rookie of the Year consideration, poured in six of her 11 field goal attempts, including three of her seven looks from deep, to pilot Chicago's offense. Over her last nine games, Taylor is averaging just under 18 points off a 51% clip from the field per appearance.

Kamilla Cardoso turned in another brilliant two-way performance with nine points, four rebounds, four assists and four blocks to anchor Chicago's defense near the tin, while forward Azurá Stevens asserted herself down low with nine points and a game-high 10 boards in her seventh straight game playing at least 25 minutes.

Fresh off her 15-point, five-assist performance against Las Vegas on Friday, veteran guard Natasha Cloud dished out a team-best six assists to go along with her 11 points, four rebounds and pair of steals in 32 minutes of action. In her first start of the season, Courtney Vandersloot scored seven points in 18 minutes alongside Cloud in the backcourt.

Rookie Aicha Coulibaly played one of her best games of her young career, logging eight points and snaring a career-best seven rebounds in just 14 minutes off the bench. Rachel Banham pitched in with seven points for the second unit as well.

Former Sky guard Kahleah Copper led the Mercury in scoring with 25 points and four rebounds. Two-time WNBA champion DeWanna Bonner recorded 12 points and seven rebounds. Six-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas notched 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. To round out the box score, Valeriane Ayayi and Monique Akoa Makani scored nine points apiece, while Ayayi added six rebounds.

Other highlights include:

Azurá Stevens pulled down her 1,000th career defensive rebound

Courtney Vandersloot made her first start of the season

Aicha Coulibaly pulled down a career-best seven rebounds

Kamilla Cardoso became the second player in the WNBA to record at least four rebounds, four assists and four blocks in at least two games this season, joining Las Vegas big A'ja Wilson

NEXT UP: The Sky play their second of four straight road games when they take on the Los Angeles Sparks for the first time this season at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Friday, July 10. Chicago holds a 19-31 record all-time against Los Angeles.

Captained by a pair of double-figure scoring outings from Kamilla Cardoso, who scored a then-career-best 27 points on June 27, 2025, the Sky went 2-1 against the Sparks last season.

Los Angeles enters Friday's test fresh off an 82-64 loss to the Seattle Storm. Three-time All-Star Dearica Hamby, who accounts for 14.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game on an efficient 52.7% clip from the floor, dropped 17 points in the defeat.

Five-time All-Star Kelsey Plum leads Los Angeles in scoring with 23.9 points per appearance while shooting 52.7% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc. Through 12 games, the two-time WNBA champion also paces the Sparks with 6.4 assists per game in her team-high 34.5 minutes per contest. Eleven-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike is the second-leading scorer for the Sparks, averaging 16.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while wing Rae Burrell puts up 11.5 points in her 26.5 minutes per game.

The game between Chicago and Los Angeles tips off at 9 p.m. CT on Friday and will be broadcast on ION.

KEY RUNS:

The Sky went on a 22-7 run from 7:22 to 0:18 in the first quarter

The Sky outscored the Mercury 24-15 in the first quarter

Phoenix went on a 14-6 run from 8:39 to 4:22 in the second quarter

Chicago went on a 17-7 run from 4:13 in the third quarter to 7:37 in the fourth quarter

The Mercury went on a 14-6 run from 4:38 to 0:44 in the fourth quarter

KEY STATS:

The Sky led by as many as 20 points

Chicago tied their season high with 11 steals

The Sky notched 21 assists on their 26 made field goals and had 11 assists on 12 field goals in the first half

Chicago scored 25 of its points off Phoenix's 20 turnovers

By contrast, the Mercury only scored 15 points off the Sky's 19 turnovers

The Sky's bench outscored the Mercury's 25-9

Chicago outscored Phoenix in points in the paint 30-22

Every Sky player in tonight's lineup tacked at least one assist

Phoenix recorded 10 fast break points to Chicago's four

Six Sky players tallied at least one assist in the first quarter

Chicago scored 11 of its 24 points off Phoenix's seven turnovers in the first quarter

Chicago held Phoenix to 13 points in the third quarter

Chicago recorded four blocks in the fourth quarter

The Sky shot 60% (6 of 10) from the field in the fourth quarter

CHICAGO NOTES:

Natasha Cloud accounted for eight of the Sky's 24 points in the first quarter (three points, five points created from assists)

Cloud accounted for eight of the Sky's 21 points in the fourth quarter (five points, three points created from assists)

Sydney Taylor scored 10 of the Sky's 19 points in the third quarter

Kamilla Cardoso tallied four blocks

In addition to reaching a new career high for blocks in a game, Aicha Coulibaly tied her career high for rebounds in a quarter with five in the third

PHOENIX NOTES:

Kahleah Copper accounted for seven of the Mercury's 15 points in the first quarter (five points, two points created from assists)

Alyssa Thomas accounted for 11 of Phoenix's 16 points in the second quarter (two points, nine points created from assists)

Thomas accounted for six of the Mercury's 13 points in the third quarter

Check out the Chicago Sky Statistics

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 8, 2026


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