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After a strong start against the visiting Atlanta Dream, including a 12-3 lead in the opening minutes, the same old malaise came back in the second half for the Chicago Sky.
In the first quarter, the Sky and Dream duked it out in a low-production yet competitive matchup. The Sky were still without Angel Reese, who remains sidelined with a back problem. The Dream were without Brittney Griner and Rhyne Howard.
Kamilla Cardoso maintained her season-long consistency going up against Brionna Jones in the paint. Rachel Banham and a healthy Ariel Atkins were facilitating and scoring as they went up against Allisha Gray and Jordin Canada. Michaela Onyenwere, Maddy Westbeld, Kia Nurse and Rebecca Allen did their best to hold things down as they faced Naz Hillmon, Te-Hina Paopao and Nia Coffey. Altogether, the Sky not only were crashing the boards and playing some solid defense, but also, at one point, were shooting a high percentage from the 3-point line. At the end of the first half, they led the Dream 34-28.
Then, as the second half unfolded, the Sky unraveled. They turned the ball over, made sloppy passes, let bad calls from the officials get the better of them, committed too many fouls and lost the will to persevere. Once the third quarter got underway, it seemed as if the air went out of Wintrust Arena. The Sky didn’t have the stamina that they had in the first half. As a result, the Dream outscored the Sky 32-18 in the third quarter and 26-13 in the fourth quarter, leading to an 85-66 defeat for Chicago.
Throughout the game, there were plenty of opportunities for the Sky to score with ease, whether it was underneath the basket, from the 3-point line or from the mid-range. Those easy buckets didn’t follow through and if they had, the game would have looked a bit different.
In the first half, the Sky took more chances at the 3-point line. Banham had hit two 3-pointers to start the game and ended up 3-for-6. However, Atkins was 0-for-3 and Sevgi Uzun was 0-for-2. In the second half, the Sky didn’t prioritize shooting from the 3, as head coach Tyler Marsh wanted to get the most out of Cardoso and Williams inside and let that lead the offense. He explained after the game:
I think we wanted to utilize our size inside. We didn’t want to just be stagnant in the post, but we wanted to be able to create those advantages off of ball screens and movement. And so I thought we had some opportunities early on, and at times throughout the game again. I thought that we missed some easy ones at times, and then we thought we missed some opportunities to get it back there, but we wanted to utilize the attention that they were giving on rolls and on post ups to create those outside shots.
We’re not a team that just can break you down on the perimeter and create that separation. So we need to find different ways to be able to create those outside shots. And a lot of times it’s been through our bigs. I think that Elizabeth and Angel and Kamilla have kind of been the drivers that turn in terms of creating 3-point shots for us. So, usually unusual for a team; it’s mostly by their guards. But our bigs have been really good facilitators this year and it’s kind of been how we’ve played.
Banham led the Sky with 18 points, four rebounds and two assists. Cardoso’s streak of double-doubles came to an end with 12 points and six rebounds. Elizabeth Williams had eight points and four rebounds. Atkins also had eight points, four rebounds and four assists. The one bright spot for the Sky is that they were even with the Dream in bench points at 17. Maddy Westbeld came off the bench to add six points and three rebounds. Rebecca Allen had five points and two rebounds. Uzun had four points, three rebounds and three assists.
