After dropping the season opener on Sunday to Minnesota, the Chicago Sky (0-1) will look to bounce back on Friday in the home opener when they play host to the Atlanta Dream (1-0). Friday night’s contest will be the front end of a quick back-to-back, as these two teams will face off on Sunday night in Atlanta. Tipoff is set for 7:00PM CT, and if you can’t make it out to Allstate Arena you can tune into The U Too where Lisa Byington and Stephen Bardo will have the call.
The Dream took the regular season series by a count of 2-1 in 2016, but the Sky returned the favor by bouncing Atlanta in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs. In that playoff game, veteran forward Jessica Breland had a monster showing, as she dropped 20 points and 16 rebounds, all while going 10-14 from the field. Chicago will need a similar performance on Friday, as they will be without Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley, who are still fulfilling their overseas commitments.
Atlanta will be without the services of all-star guard Angel McCoughtry, who is sitting out the 2017 season to rest. Who will the Dream turn to instead? If the first game is any indication the trio of Bria Holmes, Tiffany Hayes and Layshia Clarendon will shoulder the load offensively for Atlanta.
Holmes had 15 points on 6-12 shooting in Atlanta’s opener against the Connecticut Sun. Hayes, while having a poor night shooting (3-11), still managed to put up 19 points by getting to the foul line 12 times and converting on 11 of them. Clarendon also chipped in with 14 points of her own.
Damiris Dantas is also another name to look for off of Atlanta’s bench, as she had 13 points in the opener.
Despite the loss to the Lynx on Sunday night, there were many bright spots for the Sky. Chicago received productive nights from Breland, Imani Boyette and Tamera Young. Breland posted her 12th career double-double, hauling in 10 boards and 11 points. Boyette was a force on the offensive glass, as she grabbed seven offensive boards (12 total). Young was just two rebounds shy of joining Breland with a double-double, as she dropped 14 points and brought down eight boards.
Chicago did turn the ball over 24 times on Sunday, which is an area they will look to improve upon next time out.
Join us on Friday night as we kick of the season at Allstate Arena! To purchase tickets, call 866.SKY.WNBA or visit CHICAGOSKY.NET. Watch us on The U Too or stream WNBA League Pass. For live updates, download at the Sky mobile app from the App Store or on Google Play!