The Chicago Sky host the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night in the deciding matchup of their 2026 regular-season series, with both teams having split the first two meetings. It's the final time these two will see each other in the regular season, as the Sky look to close out their first homestand of the season with a win against the best team in the West.

Chicago took the first game on May 17 in Minneapolis, leaving Target Center with an 86-79 road win. It was a collective offensive outing as Gabriela Jaquez led the Sky with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while center Kamilla Cardoso controlled the paint with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Jacy Sheldon added 10 points and four steals in that game, while Natasha Cloud orchestrated the offense with 11 points and seven assists.

Just six days later on May 23, the Lynx responded by handing the Sky an 85-75 defeat in Wintrust Arena behind a strong game from Natasha Howard. The Lynx center posted 26 points on 73.0% shooting to go with 14 rebounds.

The battle in the paint will once again prove to be a big part of this final game. While Howard was dominant in the May 23 loss, Cardoso averaged 14.0 points and 9.5 rebounds between the first two matchups. She was particularly effective in the first game. After missing her first three shots in the May 17 showing, she proceeded to make 14 straight field goals between that game and her next on May 20. She’ll be pivotal in the Sky’s hopes to take the season series.

While the Sky only shot 32.0% from the field in their last matchup against the Lynx, they are coming off a 48.0% performance against the Toronto Tempo. Most notably, undrafted rookie Sydney Taylor had a career-high 27 points off the bench. Taylor, Skylar Diggins and Cloud combined for 68 of the Sky’s season-high 104 points in their last game.

If the Sky can sustain their high-flying offense from last game and pair it with the league-leading defensive efforts they showed in their first four games, this is a dangerous team.

In the meantime since the two teams have played, Minnesota rose to the top of the league standings with a win on Wednesday. They scored an impressive 96 points in that game, all but seven of which came from their starting core of Howard, Courtney Williams, rookie Olivia Miles, Nia Coffey and Kayla McBride.

The Lynx also added a big body in veteran big Teaira McCowan, who averages 10.4 points and 7.5 rebounds against the Sky in her career (20 games).

Minnesota holds a 31-20 edge in the all-time regular-season series, but a Sky win Friday would chip away at that deficit and avenge the 2025 3-1 regular-season series loss. This season, road teams have won both matchups, so Chicago will look to change that trend on their home floor Friday night.

Tip-off against Minnesota is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, Friday, May 29 at Wintrust Arena. The Sky will then go back on the road to take on the Washington Mystics June 2.