The Chicago Sky will end its regular season in Seattle on Sunday, September 18. The Sky currently controls its own destiny as far as the playoffs and the fourth seed are concerned. A win on Sunday and Chicago will secure a first-round bye.
The Sky used a balanced scoring attack to pull away from the New York Liberty by a score of 92-68 on Friday, September 16 at the Allstate Arena. Tamera Young led all scorers with 22 points and came up one rebound short of a double-double, finishing with nine rebounds. Jessica Breland and Cappie Pondexter both registered 11 points, with Breland also collecting eight rebounds. Off the bench, Jamierra Faulkner tied her career high and the WNBA season high for assists with 11, while also recording four steals. Additionally, Allie Quigley finished with 18 points off the bench, as well. The New York Liberty was without five of their players, resulting in only seven players dressed and able to play. Swin Cash and Carolyn Swords finished with 15 points each, the latter also collecting eight rebounds. Rebecca Allen, in an extended role due to injuries, posted 13 points and eight rebounds.
Seattle is coming off an 86-92 loss at the hands of the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday evening. Phoenix burst out to a 28-12 first quarter lead and never looked back. The Storm was led by rookie Breanna Stewart who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. Jewell Loyd and Crystal Langhorne both reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis led the Storm’s bench with 11 points. The Mercury’s three-headed attack of Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Candice Dupree combined for 50 points.
Chicago has taken the two previous matchups against the Storm. Elena Delle Donne hit a buzzer beating three-pointer in Seattle on July 17 to give the Sky a 91-88 victory. Delle Donne shot 14-for-24 and recorded a double-double with 35 points and 11 rebounds. Also coming up big was Cheyenne Parker, who recorded her first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Breanna Stewart did it all for the Storm that night, finishing with 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five blocks. Most recently, the two teams met on September 2 at Allstate Arena where once again, Chicago narrowly came away with a victory. Young led all scorers with 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Delle Donne came up 22 points and six rebounds. For the Storm, both Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd recorded double-doubles. Stewart scored 13 points and collected 10 rebounds, while Jewell Loyd finished two assists short of a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Tip-off between the Sky and Storm is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT on Sunday, September 18 at KeyArena in Seattle. The Chicago Sky will host a playoff game in the coming week with the date and time to be determined. Playoff ticket packages are on sale now. To secure seats for the 2016 Sky Playoffs, call 866.SKY.WNBA or visit CHICAGOSKY.NET.