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The Chicago Sky saw their perfect preseason come to an end Saturday, falling 92-87 to the Minnesota Lynx in their final tune-up before the regular season.
Forward Angel Reese struggled to find her rhythm early, going scoreless from the field in the first half and putting up just three points on free throws. She finished with 10 points on 2-of-8 shooting in a game where the Sky couldn’t quite close the gap late.
Hailey Van Lith added eight points and three assists off the bench. Kia Nurse and Rachel Banham each chipped in 14 points, while Kamilla Cardoso dropped 13 in the loss.
On the other side, Napheesa Collier took over. The Team USA standout torched the Sky for 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting, tacking on five boards, a steal and a block in a dominant outing.
Chicago entered the night 2-0 in the preseason, led by Reese’s averages of 12.0 points and 9.0 rebounds and Chennedy Carter’s team-best 14.6 points per game. But with the regular season around the corner, fans quickly took to social media to weigh in on Reese’s quiet outing and what it means moving forward.
Banham came out on fire for the Sky, shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the field in the first quarter—including 3-of-3 from deep—to rack up 11 quick points. Nurse added seven in the opening frame to help Chicago take a 27-25 lead after one.
But the momentum didn’t last.
Chicago’s offense sputtered in the second quarter, shooting just 25 percent from the field with only four made baskets. The Lynx capitalized on the cold streak, pouring in 23 points to take a 48-42 lead into the half.
Despite the second-quarter slump, the Sky stayed hot from long range, knocking down 53.8 percent of their three-pointers in the first half. Turnovers, however, proved costly: Chicago gave up 12 points off giveaways before the break.
Reese was held to just three points on free throws in the first half, while Cardoso chipped in six. Banham and Nurse each had 11 by halftime. The Lynx got a full team effort, with every player contributing on the scoreboard—Courtney Williams and Jessica Shepard led with eight apiece, while Collier added four.
Out of halftime, Van Lith scored five, Ariel Atkins added four, and Rebecca Allen chipped in three to keep the Sky close, despite a 13-point explosion from Collier for the Lynx. Chicago trailed by just three heading into the fourth.
But as the final quarter wore on, the Sky couldn’t weather the late push. Chicago failed to score for over three minutes following an Angel Reese free throw and didn’t break the drought until another from Reese with 4.1 seconds left and back-to-back Lynx buckets with under 2:30 left stretched the lead to six. The late effort wasn’t enough, and the Sky fell short.
The Sky will kick off their regular season on May 17 against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on the road.
