WNBA: Sky show progress in Angel Reese’s return game

Yes, the Chicago Sky lost again. Yes. it was their 26th loss of the season. Yes, the organization needs a real overhaul of its operations.

However, the Sky didn’t go out without a fight against the Seattle Storm, even though they ultimately lost 94-88. In essence, it was a far cry from how things ended up on July 24 when they lost 94-57 to Seattle.

For starters, the Sky had Angel Reese back for the first time in three weeks after she had been dealing with a debilitating back problem. Ariel Atkins was finally off minutes her restrictions. And every player was available except for Courtney Vandersloot, who is out for the year with an ACL injury

From the jump, the Sky were able to hold their own against the a Storm sqaud featuring Nneka Ongumeke, Skylar Diggins, Erica Wheeler, Brittney Sykes, Gabby Williams and Dominique Malonga. They finished the first quarter tied at 20. But in the second quarter, the Storm took command. A 14-5 run helped them outscore the Sky 26-14 and lead 46-34 at the half.

It appeared that the Sky were destined for another blowout loss. However, the third quarter began to turn around as thanks to the energetic playmaking of Atkins and the determination of Reese in the paint.

Furthermore, Kamilla Cardoso and Elizabeth Williams continued to complement each other in the post, both scoring and rebounding. Sevgi Uzun showed off solid scoring, Rachel Banham facilitated the offense pretty well and Rebecca Allen, plus Kia Nurse, added some considerable performances off the bench. As a result, the Sky were able to close the quarter down 66-54 after trailing by as many as 18 points.

In the fourth quarter, things began to click for Chicago. They hit some big shots down the stretch, crashed the boards and their defense was locked in. In all, they took the game down to the wire, even with things were realistically out of reach. The Sky went on a 19-8 run in the middle fourth quarter. It wasn’t enough to win, but enough to feel as though the effort was there.

Atkins, who finished with 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists, carried the team on her shoulders in the fourth quarter. After the game, she emphasized the importance of staying focused and gave credit to Nurse for hitting some big shots, including 3-pointers, when it mattered, noting:

Just trying to stay locked in for us. As much as I was getting those buckets, Kia came in and was huge for us. I’m really happy about the way that she played tonight, because I think that is going to carry over really well for her. That was off the top of my mind, but just energy within us. I have to take certain shots, they’re not always the best shots in the world, but sometimes I gotta put them up there because I know I have phenomenal rebounders on the other end, so I ain’t gonna lie to you.

Reese, came back with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. She expressed excitement about coming back to the game she loves, sharing:

It felt great. I love basketball. It’s my pride and joy. Sitting on the sidelines is no fun. Sitting and just doing rehab every single day is no fun, and also just sitting and figuring out what’s going on with myself, and I think I learned a lot about myself for the last three to four weeks. But I’m just super grateful, for everybody that was in my corner—my teammates, my coaches—that were here for me through the whole process. So I’m really happy to be back with the team and just being able to be out there and give them whatever I can.

Though Reese was on minutes restrictions, she still played 26 minutes.

Meanwhile, head coach Tyler Marsh discussed Atkins’ return from minute’s restrictions and how her comeback has benefited the team, as well as how she and Reese form a tight unit. He said postgame:

I think for the last few games, she’s been pacing herself a little bit, just trying to get back into the groove. The pace of play and everything, and I thought today she kind of took the reins off herself and I think that she was able to go longer stretches. She brought the aggressiveness early, and I think that—you know, I say this all the time about Angel, but it applies to Ariel, too—when both of them are more aggressive, we’re a better team for it. I think that more often than not, when she gets above 15, around that 15, 18, 20 field goal attempt threshold, it’s usually the games that we’re in or have won. The more aggressive she is from that position, the better we are.

Other Sky players also had complete games. Cardoso finished the game with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists. Williams has 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Nurse had 13 points and two assists. Uzun scored seven points and dished out four assists. Banham had five points, three assists and two rebounds. Allen had five points.