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It was a night of celebration for the Chicago Sky.
On the one hand, they honored hometown hero Allie Quigley, as she became the first former Sky player to have her jersey retired. On the other hand, they came away with a victory over the Dallas Wings, 87-76, after back-to-back close calls against the Minnesota Lynx, 80-75, and the Washington Mystics, 81-79.
They did so by doing what Allie Quigley did best: Shoot the ball.
At the opening tip, both the Sky and Wings had trouble generating much of a run. As a result, the game was heading towards a low-scoring matchup with the Sky holding a 19-18 lead after the first quarter. However, the Sky began to find a spark towards the end of the second quarter. They went on a 12-2 run down the stretch of the second quarter to hold onto a 45-37 lead at the half.
They did so by shooting the ball with greater regularity and confidence, something that’s been an issue for Chicago in recent years.
At the start of the third quarter, the Wings, led by Paige Bueckers, started to come back. Though Arike Ogunbowale and DiJonai Carrington were on the injured list, they got considerable performances out of Aziaha James and former Sky player Li Yueru, who each were scoring fluently from the perimeter and in the paint. At one point, Dallas came within a point, and the Sky were back on their heels.
But there was no stopping the Sky as they embarked on a 22-9 run from the latter half of the third quarter and through the start of the fourth. Once again, the team was succeeding by shooting the ball, as well as by protecting the ball, crashing the boards and controlling the perimeter.
The Sky shot 50.9 percent from the field and 47.6 percent (10-for21) from 3, while the Wings shot 36 percent from the floor and 26.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Sky also got notable performances from:
Rebecca Allen: Allen wore the cape of Allie Quigley as she was virtually lights out from beyond the arc. She finished with a game-high 27 points, including five 3-pointers as she shot 71.4 from the perimeter. In addition, she had six rebounds and three assists.
Angel Reese: Get her on the court and she’s trouble, as Reese came with another double-double. The second-time WNBA All-Star notched her seventh-consecutive double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds while going 60 percent from the field. This performance topped off a day which her new signature Reebok shoe, the AR 1, was released and she was featured on the cover of NBA 2K26.
Kamilla Cardoso: It was her first game back since playing in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup for Brazil. It was as if Cardoso hadn’t left, as she controlled the paint with precision and poise, resulting in nine points, four assists and four rebounds.
Rachel Banham: Banham is growing more comfortable in her transition from the bench to the starting rotation. She demonstrated that with an 11-point performance, including two 3-pointers and going 5-for-5 at the free throw line. Banham alluded to her growing confidence by citing her willingness to do whatever it takes to help her team, asserting after the game:
I’m just kind of rolling with the punches. I’m having fun. My teammates are great. They’re trusting me. The coaches trust me. So I’m playing with a lot of confidence right now.
I’ve been in a lot of different roles throughout my career, so it kind of just feels like every other day. But I’m really just trying to be that leader, and, you know, keep us focused on offense and get us into stuff and keep the ball moving, and do what I can do and shoot 3s and whatnot. I’m having fun with it and just trying to keep going. I can keep getting better. I got to keep taking care of the basketball. That’s going to be really big for us down the line, too.
Head coach Tyler Marsh offered his praises for Banham and her effort, saying:
Rachel’s been amazing. It’s the amount of poise that she has when she’s in there, and when she’s handling the pressure she’s deceptively quick, but she’s got a really good handle, and so she understands change of speeds and how to elude pressure and handle pressure and still keep us within the organization. When too many possessions go by where she hasn’t handled it, I’m yelling at her to go get the basketball, because I have that much trust and and faith in her ability to get us organized. She’s been great for us. The team trusts her when she’s out there, and you know it’s been great, because while she’s been on the ball, we’ve been able to find opportunities to get her some looks off the ball as well. So she’s been amazing.
Elizabeth Williams: Williams remained in the starting rotation at the 5 position as Cardoso was getting back to form. She showed up and delivered a complete game, resulting in eight points, six assists, five rebounds and two blocks.
Ariel Atkins: She came alive in the fourth quarter by directly contributing to nine out of the Sky’s 16 total points. She had five of her own and assisted two buckets. Altogether, Atkins finished with seven points, as well as four assists and four rebounds.
