The Chicago Sky (4-12) return home on Wednesday, June 24, to face the expansion Portland Fire (8-9). Chicago is looking to go up 2-0 in the season series, which would win it for the year after the Sky defeated Portland in the season opener.

The two teams first met on May 9 in the Fire’s first game, with Chicago coming away with a double-digit victory. Chicago’s Natasha Cloud did not play in the first meeting between the two teams. If she plays tonight (questionable, illness), she’ll add a new dimension the Sky didn’t have the first time around. 

The same can be said for veteran Azurá Stevens, who missed that game with an injury, and rookie phenom Sydney Taylor, who only played four minutes. Both players had solid outings against the Sun, with Stevens going for 11 points and three rebounds while Taylor added 10 points.

The second-year center Kamilla Cardoso is coming off a strong road performance. In her last game against the Connecticut Sun, Cardoso put up 16 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. Against Dallas just one game prior, she finished one point shy of tying her career high with 26 points.

In the first meeting against Portland, she recorded 22 points and 14 rebounds, pairing with Skylar Diggins to become the first pair of teammates with 20-point double-doubles in the opener. Cardoso is the second-leading scorer for the Sky, averaging 13.1 points per game, and leads the team in rebounds, averaging 8.9 per game. 

Skylar Diggins dominated the Fire in her first go-round, going for 21 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks, being the only guard in league history to ever put up those numbers in a game.

Portland is coming off a win over the Seattle Storm, 94-89 on June 17. Portland has had the week off games since that point. Bridget Carleton led the team in scoring in that outing with 24 points against the Storm. She is averaging 13.8 points per game, which is second on the team. In the last meeting against Sky, Carleton scored 18 points, four assists and four rebounds for the Fire.

Another key player for the Fire, Carla Leite, is leading Portland offensively, averaging 14.1 points and 5.6 assists per game this season while shooting 48.6% from the field. She is questionable for the game with an injury, which is one to watch. 

Tip-off for the first of the two-game set is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, June 24 at Wintrust Arena. The game will be broadcast on The U.