Chicago Sky squash Atlanta Dream to advance to semifinals
When Chicago Sky forward Jessica Breland has a bad day on the basketball court, all she has to do is remind herself that she's gotten through bad days before.
Really bad days.
In college, Breland beat cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma. She missed the entire 2009-10 season at the University of North Carolina and spent six months going through chemotherapy.
"You don't know how strong you are until you're faced with something (bad). I was faced with a life or death situation," Breland said. "To me, I go back to it every time I can, and I remind myself: 'You're strong, you're strong. You can do anything, you can beat anything. You can face anything, you can overcome anything.' I just kept trying to tell myself that this season, and it helped."
The 2016 season has been a struggle for Breland, not the same kind of struggle she faced with cancer, of course, but a struggle nonetheless. She says that staying positive and strong-minded is the reason she was able to have a game like she did on Sunday.
Breland, who was averaging just 6 points a game and has seen her minutes as a full-time starter the previous two seasons shrink to that of a role player this season, exploded for 20 points and a game-high 16 rebounds in leading the Sky to a 108-98 victory over the Atlanta Dream in a single elimination, second-round WNBA playoff game.
The Sky (19-16), which got a team-high 21 points and 13 assists from point guard Courtney Vandersloot, got out to a fast start against the Dream and built its lead to as many as 19 points. Next up for the Sky is the Los Angeles Sparks (26-8) in a best-of-five semifinals that begins on Wednesday in Los Angeles. The Sky will host Game 3 on Sunday at Allstate Arena.
"I just told myself to keep pushing forward, it's kind of like my life," said Breland, who played 33 minutes after averaging 17 minutes during the regular season. "I've faced a lot of obstacles. Every day isn't going to be perfect or what you think it's going to be. This season has showed that to me."
Breland had eight scoreless games this season and 26 in which she scored 9 points or less. She seemed unsure of her shot at times this season and also was not as big of a factor on the boards, pulling down only about 4 rebounds per game.
But while her numbers were off, her head was never down.
"I always called her the X-factor of this (Sky) team," Atlanta coach Michael Cooper said of Breland. "She kind of slides under the radar, but she's a big X-factor."
The Sky certainly needed an X-factor, playing in its sixth straight game without superstar and leading scorer Elena Delle Donne (21.5 ppg). Delle Donne has been sidelined with a thumb injury, which was surgically repaired on Sept. 13. Her availability for the rest of the season is unclear.
"People tend to forget that basketball is a team sport," said Sky veteran guard Cappie Pondexter, who finished with 16 points. "It's not necessarily about one player. She (Delle Donne) is our face, she is a superstar and she's a great all-around player.
"But that's what makes basketball special. There are so many wonderful players out there, and you saw that today, like Jessica Breland with a double-double, and Vandersloot (3-of-6 3-pointers) with a double-double and you had other players contribute. It was beautiful to see."
Forward Tamera Young also had 16 points for the Sky.
Meanwhile, guard Tiffany Hayes poured in a game-high 30 points for Atlanta (18-18), which got double-figures from all five starters. Forward Angel McCoughtry finished with 27 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting for the Dream.