TONIGHT’S GAME HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE
● The Sky and Mercury kicked off a two-game series that will be split between one game in Chicago and another in Phoenix,which will occur Thursday at 9:00p CT.
● Guard Kia Nurse hit a game-winning three point shot right inside of half-court as the game clock hit triple zero’s.
● Guard Diamond DeShields recorded her 100th WNBA three-pointer as well as her 100th steal as a professional. She finishedthe game with a season-high 26 points and four steals.
● Guard Courtney Vandersloot recorded her 39th career double-double. She finished the game with 17 points and 10 assists, her59th career game with double-digit assists.
● Forward Azurá Stevens pulled down her 100th career rebound in tonight’s contest. She finished the game with seven pointsand five rebounds.
● Sky newcomer Lexie Brown made her debut with the team, posting two points and four assists.NEXT UP: The Sky (2-5) and Mercury (4-3) will play their second of two games over the next three days in Phoenix on Thursday, June 3 at 9:00p CT. Sky fans can tune into WCIU in Chicago to catch the action or watch on CBS Sports Network.
KEY RUNS
● Phoenix opened up the game on an 8-0 run, dropping its first three field goals in just a minute and twenty seconds.
● The Sky responded to an early double-digit deficit with an 11-1 run over a 3:21 stretch in the first quarter to even up the game 15-15.
● Phoenix finished off the last 2:05 of the first quarter with a 6-0 spurt to go into the second quarter with a 21-15 lead.
● After falling behind 31-29 halfway through the second quarter, Phoenix went on an 18-5 run over the final 4:17 of the first half to head into the break up by 11.
● Early in the second half, Chicago went on a 19-4 run spanning a 5:38 stretch to evaporate the halftime deficit of eleven and turn it into a two-point lead.
● Early in the final quarter, Chicago went on a 12-0 run over a 2:14 stretch to push their lead out to nine with just under five minutes remaining in the game.
● Phoenix finished the game on a 14-3 run over the final 3:37 to stun Chicago and win 84-83.
KEY STATS
● Sky missed its first seven shots.
● The Mercury pulled in 14 rebounds during the first quarter, 12 of which came on the defensive end that limited the Sky to just two second chance points in the opening frame. Phoenix finished the first half out-rebounding the Sky 21-12.
● Chicago produced 31 points off turnovers, and limited its own giveaways to just 10.
● Conversely, Phoenix finished the game with 21 turnovers.
● Chicago finished the first half shooting 1-8 from downtown. It finished the game 4-14 from behind the arc.
● After falling behind by double digits at the break, Chicago outscored the Mercury 25-14 to even up the score heading into the final quarter.
● The Mercury scored 14 of the final 17 points scored in tonight’s game, including the game-winning shot from Kia Nurse.
CHICAGO NOTES
● The starting five of Courtney Vandersloot, Diamond DeShields, Kahleah Copper, Ruthy Hebard and Astou Ndour-Fall was used for the sixth consecutive game tonight. The Sky never used a starting lineup more than five times in all of 2020, with the most frequent initial group being Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley, Stefanie Dolson, Kahleah Copper and Azurá Stevens.
● Hebard scored the first eight points for the Sky, she finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds.
● Sky newcomer Lexie Brown scored her first career points in a Chicago uniform with a layup at the 7:48 mark of the second quarter.
● Hebard and DeShields shot a combined 7-12 from the field during the first half, good for 20 of the Sky’s 36 total points through the first two frames.
● Sky finished with a new season-high of 10 steals.
● Sky finished the game 19-20 from the free throw line, and has only missed four free throws total over the last four games.
Postgame Press Conference powered by Magellan Corporation – Sky vs. Mercury