Chicago Sky Duo’s Unrivaled Season Off to Rough Start

New week, same old stuff.

It was a lackluster week for the Lunar Owls, who feature Chicago Sky guards Rachel Banham and Rebecca Allen, as they moved to 0-3 on the year and are now tied with the Hive for last place in the Unrivaled standings.

The Owls sport the worst point differential in the league with -64, or 14 points below their newer counterparts, which was made all the worse following a 94-60 defeat at the hands of the Phantom. The Lunar Owls will move on to face the Mist and the Vinyl, who both earned one victory in the second week of Unrivaled play with wins over the Laces and Hive, respectively.

The Lunar Owls ended their latest batch of regular-season bouts with an 84-72 loss to the Laces, who sit at 2-1 in their opening games while barely scraping by the Rose for the league’s highest-ranked offense.

The two-player team of Marina Mabrey and Aaliyah Edwards put up a valiant effort to keep the Owls on pace as they scored all but eight of the squad’s points, to no avail.

How did the Sky duo of Banham and Allen fare in their latest week of Unrivaled play? And where can they go from here?

Last Two Games: Four points, three rebounds, 1.5 assists per contest

Banham’s gunslinger brand of ball showed up early in the Lunar Owls’ loss to the Laces, where she pulled up for a near-half court shot not even 30 seconds after being subbed in for the first time. She would end the bout with three points, four rebounds and three assists as she set up Edwards and Allen for a few solid shots. The Sky starter, who recently launched a podcast with WNBA veteran guard Aari McDonald, will need to up her game to ease some pressure off the Owls’ two leaders and light a spark on offense for the struggling squad.

Last Two Games: 2.5 points, three rebounds, 2.5 assists per game

Allen knocked down two of her nine total shots this week, including one of five in the loss to the Laces. She still had her moments on Jan. 12, as she logged six rebounds and three assists. She made some solid plays on defense, including blocking two shots on Young and intercepting a pass down low to Alyssa Thomas, but still left some things to be desired as the Owls desperately searched for a winning formula without Napheesa Collier in their opening games.

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