The Chicago Sky were eliminated from postseason contention in their most recent game, but not without a fight until running out of gas.
After seeing their three-game winning streak come to a halt, the Sky (15-23) will look to get back on track Tuesday when they visit the Connecticut Sun (9-27) in Uncasville, Conn.
Natasha Cloud scored 16 points in Chicago’s 113-90 setback to the Indiana Fever on Sunday. She also got into a heated verbal exchange with Enes Kanter Freedom that led to the former NBA player being ejected from a courtside seat.
Azura Stevens had 14 points and rookie Aicha Coulibaly added 12 on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor.
“I don’t think anybody in the locker room is ready to mail it in,” Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said. “We all understand we got a job to do. We got an organization and city to continue to play for. We got a lot of young players that still have time to continue to develop. We’re not just playing for the right now, we’re playing for the future too.”
Kamilla Cardoso, who boasts team-best averages in points (14.7) and rebounds (8.8), contributed 16 and 14, respectively, in Chicago’s 92-63 loss at Connecticut on June 22. She added 26 points in the Sky’s 94-88 victory over the Sun on July 30.
Connecticut fell for the ninth time in its last 11 games on Saturday with a 77-68 setback to the Los Angeles Sparks.
The Sparks scored 32 points in the first quarter then shifted to a defensive mindset, much to the chagrin of Connecticut head coach Rachid Meziane.
“I didn’t really like how our starting five came out tonight,” Meziane said. “We didn’t start the game with the right defensive energy. … Yeah, I was a little surprised because the last five games we really (started well).”
Saniya Rivers had 14 points and matched a career high with four steals for the Sun, who were held to 35.1% shooting but did force 25 turnovers that led to 30 points.
Connecticut’s Brittney Griner has missed four consecutive contests due to a left knee injury. She posted team-high point totals in two of the three meetings versus Chicago.
–Field Level Media
