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Chicago showed up and showed out for Candace Parker’s jersey retirement night at Wintrust Arena as her hometown Sky hosted the Las Vegas Aces, two teams she played for over the course of her illustrious career.Â
Over the years, Parker played with a strong sense of grit and determination. The Sky, a franchise facing mounting issues, found a way to follow the example of the legend. Altogether, the now-healthy Sky played with competitiveness and confidence.
After a contested first quarter that ended with the Sky trailing 20-14, the Aces went on run to begin the second quarter, eventually outscoring the Sky 24-18 to take a 44-32 lead at the half. In the third quarter, the Sky came storming back. They went on a 22-9 run that began in the middle of the period and outscored Vegas 24-16 in the frame, leaving them down only 60-56 with one quarter left.Â
The momentum was back in the Sky’s favor. Just under the six-minute mark, Michaela Onyenwere hit a big corner 3-pointer to bring the Sky within one point, 67-66. After a back-and-forth battle, Ariel Atkins found Angel Reese open in transition for the layup to give Chicago a 74-73 lead with around two and a half minutes remaining.
By that point, Chicago’s defense was locked in and they were relentless on the glass. Additionally, the crowd at Wintrust was ecstatic in a way it hadn’t been for a while.
But just when it seemed like victory was at hand, the Aces answered back with two big buckets of their own. Chelsea Gray hit a huge 3-pointer at the top of the key at the 1:35 mark. Then, after Kamilla Cardoso’s layup was blocked at the other end, A’ja Wilson hit a jumper at the 1:11 mark to give the Aces a 78-74 lead. The Sky still had a chance but failed to execute on their last possession, resulting in Kia Nurse flinging up a 3-point attempt. The Aces got the rebound, Chicago was forced to foul and that was it.Â
While they suffered another loss, the Sky didn’t go out without putting in the effort.
Atkins led the Sky in scoring with a season-high 30 points, along with four rebounds and seven assists. She scored 19 first-half points and kept the Sky in contention. Atkins has carried the team on her shoulders and played with sheer determination since coming off her minutes restriction. Her ability to score in bunches does wonders for the team. Head coach Tyler Marsh showered her with praise after the game:
I think that we really struggle when Ariel’s not aggressive, getting shots up, A lot of times, it’s a unique situation because the more aggressive she is, the better we are. So it’s not always about the makes and the misses. Sometimes it’s just about the attempts, because when she’s getting the attempts up in the right way, it’s still putting pressure on the defense. It’s opened up stuff for other people, and even when she’s not hitting, she’s also able to command some attention, where she’s able to get it to other players as well. But she can be hesitant or reluctant to shoot. We need her to get shots up, and I think the games we have won, or that we are in, have been her higher attempted games. If they’re under double digits, that’s when we struggle. She’s a huge piece to who we are and what we do, and we want her to continue to be aggressive.
Reese surpassed Wilson and Alyssa Thomas with her 20th double-double of the year. Altogether, she finished with 10 points and 17 rebounds. Reese is now sixth on the all-time rebounding list in franchise history with 780. Furthermore, she passed Tina Charles for the most double-doubles in her first two WNBA seasons with 46. Meanwhile, Cardoso secured another double-double with 19 points and 19 rebounds. Elizabeth Williams had six points and five rebounds of her own.Â
Jackie Young led the Aces with 22 points, seven assists three steals and two blocks. A’ja Wilson posted 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Chelsea Gray finished with 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Also, NaLyssa Smith had 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks. Former Sky player Dana Evans came away with eight points and two rebounds. In the process, the Aces notched their 11th-consecutive victory and a playoff spot.Â
Candace Parker’s jersey retirement ceremony came at halftime. She was surrounded by her family, friends and former teammates. 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper flew from Phoenix to give a speech. Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley were in attendance, as was former head coach James Wade.
Parker spoke of the meaning of home in her speech, crediting her hometown of Naperville and the city of Chicago for everything. As she put it:
When you tally up the championships, the banners, the state championships, the NCAA championships and now the jersey in the rafters, it’s because of the bar this city set. It’s because of the expectations, the bright lights, the lessons learned. Most importantly, it’s because of the people. My heart will always belong to the state of Illinois, the city of Naperville and the city of Chicago. It’s not just where I’m from, but the core of who I am. That’s what home is.
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