Sky looks to find its game at home

Would the real Chicago Sky please come forward?

That's what guard Epiphanny Prince is hoping will happen Friday against the Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.

"We just need to act like we belong here (in the Finals), and I don't think we've done that yet," Prince said Wednesday after the team returned from its four-day trip to Arizona for the first two games of the series.

"We're disappointed in ourselves. We haven't showcased what we really can do. Phoenix is a good team, but we haven't even come close to playing up to our ability yet."

The Sky is down to Phoenix 2-0 in the best-of-five championship series. Including a 97-68 loss to the host Mercury in Game 2, the Sky's average margin of defeat in the Finals is 25 points.

Game 3 tips off at 7 p.m. Friday (ESPN2) at the UIC Pavilion. The Mercury could wrap up its third WNBA title in eight years with a win. The Sky, of course, is playing in its first WNBA Finals.

"We've been unable to sustain much of anything positive on the road. It's been tough," Sky coach Pokey Chatman said. "But our only option is to hang in there and to bring our very best. When this is over, whenever that is, we want to have no regrets. We want to finish strong."

There she is:

Epiphanny Prince is one player who actually did play to her capabilities in Game 2.

And it was a long time coming.

Before scoring 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting in Game 2, Prince was struggling with her shot. She was 22 of 81 from the field (27 percent) in seven previous playoff games. And in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against Indiana, she went 0-for-9 from the field.

"I just lost some confidence in myself when I wasn't (hitting shots)," Prince said. "My teammates talked to me a lot to help me. Syl (Sylvia Fowles) and Tamera (Young) have been telling me to remember that I'm one of the best guards in the league and to not worry about missing some shots … that they will come."

Back in action:

Because of back troubles, Sky leading scorer Elena Delle Donne hadn't looked much like herself over the last week.

That changed Tuesday in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals in Phoenix. In 28 minutes, she scored a team-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She also hit both of her 3-point attempts.

"It was nice to see her not have to take herself out of the game because of the pain," Pokey Chatman said of Delle Donne's Game 2. "She has done everything possible to be able to get back to playing: massage, stimulation, heat, ice, muscle relaxers, exercises, everything.

"I'm just so happy for her that it finally game together in Game 2."

• Patricia Babcock McGraw has covered the Sky since its inaugural season in 2006. She also is a sideline reporter for Sky television games. She can be reached at pbabcock@dailyherald.com. Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw