Sky fail to close out Lynx

The Sky’s Angel Reese boxes out the Lynx’s Dorka Juhász.

After trailing the Commissioner’s Cup champion Minnesota Lynx 7-0 in the opening minutes, the Chicago Sky took a quick timeout, got themselves together and regained the momentum.

They would hold onto that momentum throughout the first three quarters. They did so through protecting the ball, spacing with and without the ball, taking good shots and holding the likes of Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride and Bridget Carleton, as well as former Sky players Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith, at bay.

Chicago played with a certain level of patience so that the offense could run smoothly, with a tremendous emphasis on wanting to create motion and opportunities to score from all spots on the floor. Such efforts helped the Sky lead by as many as nine points; they had a 57-52 advantage going into the fourth quarter. It seemed as if Chicago was poised to hold on for a convincing win against a venerable opponent. That is when everything turned, as the Sky drastically struggled for points and in the end were outscored 18-5, shooting a whopping 2-for-23 from the field in the final 10 minutes. The poor finish resulted in the 70-62 defeat.

In spite of a very difficult loss, there were some notable performances:

Lindsay Allen

The veteran point guard led the way in terms of facilitating the offense and unleashing an offensive clinic that culminated in a season-high 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds. She also managed to come away with the highest shooting percentage, going 50 percent from the field and 60 percent from behind the 3-point line.

“She’s a pure point guard,” said head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. “She recognizes what’s going on and where the ball must be, plays that should be made and for whom those plays should be read for. She’s a conductor.”

Angel Reese

The rookie phenom came away with her record-breaking 10th-consecutive double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds. It seemed as if she was on the cusp of the streak ending in the final moments until she found herself at the foul line with 23 seconds left. Though the Sky were on the path to defeat, she went 1-for-2 at the line to solidify yet another double-double performance that got the crowd on their feet.

Chennedy Carter

The feisty starting guard once again took on the difficult task of doing difficult tasks. She was all over the floor and carried the team on her shoulders throughout as she ended with a team-high 15 points, three assists and four rebounds.

Marina Mabrey

Against a swarming Minnesota perimeter defense, the sharp-shooting Mabrey found ways to engage in some playmaking as she came away with 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Kamilla Cardoso

The basket was not Cardoso’s friend as she struggled to score inside and finished with one field goal out of nine attempts, resulting in only three points. However, she did some solid work on the boards with 10 rebounds, in addition to an epic block on Natisha Hiedeman.

The Chicago Sky (6-11) will hit the road to play the Atlanta Dream (7-10) on July 3 at 7 p.m. ET.