The Chicago Sky fell to the Phoenix Mercury 83-91 inside Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday, May 15. Despite going down by as many as 17 points, the Sky showed they are a never-quit team.

Ailments plagued the Sky all night: Skylar Diggins, Courtney Vandersloot, Azurá Stevens, DiJonai Carrington and Maddy Westbeld were all out, Elizabeth Williams remains on a minutes restriction, and the Mercury shot 41 free throws to the Sky’s 26. Even still, the Sky were able to claim a late lead before ultimately suffering their first loss of the season.

Rickea Jackson played at an All-Star level on Friday night, scoring 29 points and ending just one point shy of tying her career high. She helped will the Sky back into the game with 23 second-half points and 13 fourth-quarter points.

She scored 10 straight points for the Sky in the third quarter and 12 straight points for the team in the fourth. After going down by as many as 17 points and the Mercury taking 15 more free throws than the Sky, Jackson’s scoring performance helped the Sky take a lead late into the fourth quarter. She also added six rebounds and three blocks, the latter of which tied her career high.

Rookie Gabriela Jaquez was once again a star player for the Sky, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds and a steal. She made four of her five field-goal attempts and made it to the free-throw line seven times. She is making a push for All-Rookie and even All-Defense nods early into her first season, forcing the Mercury into seven misses and notching five deflections.

Aicha Coulibaly, who is playing on a developmental contract, was another highlight for the Sky. She scored her first career WNBA points in tonight’s game and shouldered 16 minutes, scoring eight points on 4 of 6 shooting. Jacy Sheldon kept up her strong play to start the year, adding eight points and three assists.

Natasha Cloud finished the night scoring seven points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals. Kamilla Cardoso secured seven points and eight rebounds.

While a loss never feels great, the Sky never let their heads down and kept fighting until the final buzzer. The Sky will have a chance to end this road trip at 3-1 when they take on the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday.

Recap: Never-Quit Sky Show Fight in 83-91 Loss to Mercury

Chicago Sky Sign Aicha Coulibaly, Sydney Taylor