TONIGHT’S GAME HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE
- Sky and Mercury finished a two-game series tonight that began on Tuesday. Phoenix took game one in overtime on a half-court buzzer beating shot from Kia Nurse.
- Sky newcomer Dana Evans made her Chicago debut tonight. She finished the game with two points and one rebound.
- Stefanie Dolson recorded her 400th career assist in the first quarter on a layup by Kahleah Copper. Dolson finished the game with 12 points and two rebounds in her return to action.
- With nine assists in tonight’s game, Guard Courtney Vandersloot passed Diana Taurasi to move into 4th place all time in career assists with 1971
- Forward Brittany Griner recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, her 46th career double-double.
- Skylar Diggins-Smith scored a game high 28 points on 57.5% from the field, leading Phoenix to a second straight comeback win against Chicago.
Postgame Press Conference powered by Magellan Corporation – Sky at Mercury
KEY RUNS
- Chicago got off to a quick start, scoring the first six points of the game over the first 1:46 of game time.
- The Mercury quickly responded to Chicago’s hot start with a 12-2 run of their own over a 4:01 stretch.
- After the score got cut to one late in the first half, Phoenix went on an 11-2 run over seven minutes of game time to jump out to a 34-24 lead.
- After falling behind by double digits for the first time all night, Chicago opened the second half on a 12-3 run over the first five minutes of the half to take a 38-37 lead.
- Over the final 2:54 of the third quarter, Chicago went on an 8-2 run to push out to an eight point lead, their largest lead of the game so far.
- The Mercury responded to their biggest deficit of the game with a 14-4 run over 4:51 to cut the Sky lead to 63-60.
- Phoenix ended the game on a 5-0 run to send the game into overtime.
- After falling behind by two in overtime, the Sky responded with a 7-0 run over 1:31 to grab a 72-67 lead.
- Phoenix closed out the game on a 10-2 run over the final three minutes, to win the game 77-74.
KEY STATS
- Coming into tonight, Chicago is undefeated away from home with a record of 2-0. Conversely, Phoenix has yet to win a game on their home floor with a record of 0-2.
- Sky went 2-15 from three-point range in the first half. In last three games before tonight, Chicago is a combined 17-54 from behind the three.
- Chicago finished the game 8-31 from downtown.
- The Mercury had six turnovers in the opening quarter, however the Sky could not capitalize with zero points off of those turnovers.
- In their last game against Phoenix, Chicago had 31 points off of turnovers.
- In tonight’s first half, Chicago outscored the Mercury 7-0 in bench points. The Sky finished the game outscoring Phoenix 25-0 in bench points.
- Chicago outscored Phoenix 25-9 in the third quarter, while shooting 35% from the floor and holding Phoenix to only 20% shooting.
- Just like Tuesday night, Phoenix once again responded to a blown halftime lead, this time outscoring Chicago 34-23 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
- Chicago outscored the Mercury 13-6 on second chance points.
- Phoenix scored ten of the final twelve points in tonight’s game to beat the Sky 77-74. This was Phoenix’s second straight win Vs. Chicago.
CHICAGO NOTES
- Starting five of Courtney Vandersloot, Diamond DeShields, Kahleah Copper, Stefanie Dolson and Astou Ndour-Fall will be the third different starting five used by the Sky this year.
- Allie Quigley returned to action after missing the last six games with a hamstring injury.
- Chicago was 1-5 while Quigley was sidelined. She finished the game with eight points and three assists.
- The Sky scored 10 points in the second quarter, tying their season-low of points scored in a quarter.
- Beginning the game going 3-4 from the field, Chicago finished the first half going 8-29. The Sky finished the game shooting 27-78 from the floor.
- Sky newcomer Dana Evans scored her first career points in a Chicago uniform, knocking down two free-throws at the end of the third quarter.
- Forward Azurá Stevens reeled in a new season-high ten rebounds, featuring eight of them coming on the defensive end. She finished the game with eight points and ten rebounds.
- In her first game back, Stephanie Dolson scored 12 points, including six of Chicago’s nine points scored in the overtime period.
PHOENIX NOTES
- Forward Brittany Griner scored eight points in the first quarter while shooting 75% from the field. She finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds
- The Mercury ended the first quarter with a 18-16 lead. Coming into tonight, Phoenix was 4-1 in games when it was leading after the opening quarter.
- Skylar Diggins-Smith and Brittany Griner shot a combined 9-14 from the field during the first half, good for 20 of the Mercury’s 34 total points through the first two frames. Diggins-Smith and Griner finished the game scoring 54 of the Mercury’s 77 points.
- The Mercury finished the game with eight blocks. Phoenix came into the game averaging 6.5 blocks per game, the most in the league.
- Phoenix Guard Skylar Diggins-Smith finished the game with a new season-high 28 points. Diggins-Smith has scored 52 points combined during this two game series with Chicago, and scored ten straight points for the Mercury late in the fourth quarter.