Sky fall to Valkyries
The Chicago Sky lost to the Golden State Valkyries, 66-73 in Wintrust Arena on Friday. The Sky are now 7-20 on the season, 4-9 at home and 6-9 against the Western Conference.
Elizabeth Williams led the team in scoring, notching 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Kamilla Cardoso followed closely behind with a double-double, her fifth consecutively, with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Rachel Banham put up 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds, marking her 13th straight game with two or more three-point shots made. Sevgi Uzun played her first minutes for the Sky, contributing five points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal off the bench.
Veronica Burton recorded 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds to help the Valkyries secure their second win against the Sky. She made two clutch free throws at the end of the game to hold off the Sky’s tough offense late in the game. The Valkyries saw significant contributions off the bench from Iliana Rupert who recorded 14 points and averaged 8.3 points in her first 4 games with the franchise.
Rookies Janelle Salaün and Carla Leite round out the double-digit scorers each recording 16 and 11 points respectively. Salaün added nine rebounds, eight of which were on the defensive glass.
NEXT UP: The Chicago Sky stay home to play the Phoenix Mercury for the third time this season on Sunday, Aug. 3 inside Wintrust Arena. Chicago is 0-2 against Phoenix this season and 18-30 against them all time.
In their most recent matchup, Sami Whitcomb recorded 17 points, four assists and two steals off the bench to lead the Mercury in their 107-86 win against the Sky. She put up five three-pointers, contributing to the team’s 48.6% clip from beyond the arc. Alyssa Thomas added 11 points and eight assists while Kahleah Copper tallied 16 points and five steals.
Satou Sabally scored 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists to help the Mercury overcome a 16-point deficit and beat the Sky 94-89 during their first meeting of the season on May 27.
The next game between the Sky and Mercury tips off at 7 p.m. inside Wintrust Arena and will be broadcast locally on The U.
KEY RUNS:
- The Valkyries opened the game on a 12-4 run from 8:45 to 5:00 in the first quarter
- The Sky went on a 14-6 run from 4:20 in the first quarter to 7:44 in the second quarter
- Chicago went on a 15-6 run from 6:58 to 1:37 in the third quarter)
- Golden State went on a 18-4 run from 1:16 in the third quarter to 4:41 in the fourth quarter
KEY STATS:
- Chicago shot 53.8% from the field in the second quarter (7 of 13)
- Golden State recorded three steals in the first half
- The Sky’s four first-half turnovers tied their season low for turnovers in a first half (vs. Dallas in the July 9 win)
- The Sky finished with 12 turnovers
- The Valkyries totaled three blocks in the third quarter
- The Sky notched three blocks in the fourth quarter
- Golden State shot 93.8% from the free throw line (15 of 16)
- The Valkyries outscored the Sky in points off turnovers 14-10
- Golden State’s bench contributed 21 points to Chicago's 10
- The Sky recorded 32 points in the paint, Golden State 22
- The Valkyries outscored Chicago in second chance points 13-7
- The two teams combined for 52 three-point attempts, with Chicago making six and Golden State making 10
- The Sky shot 10 free throws
CHICAGO NOTES:
- Kia Nurse accounted for nine of the Sky’s 15 points in the first quarter (four points, five points created from assists)
- Rachel Banham accounted for eight of Chicago’s 15 points in the first quarter (two points, six points created from assists)
- Banham accounted for seven of the Sky’s 22 points in the second quarter (five points, two points created from an assist)
- Banham accounted for eight of Chicago’s 17 points in the third quarter (five points, three points created from an assist)
- Elizabeth Williams accounted for six of the Sky’s 17 points in the third quarter (four points, two points created from one assist)