By Sarah Disbro

Chicago eanred a 92-85 road win over Los Angeles on Sunday, June 29 for their fifth victory of the season. The win saw a balanced offense from the Sky as five players reached double figures, in a back-and-forth game with the Sparks that saw 12 lead changes. 

Angel Reese recorded her fourth straight double-double as the game saw her take over in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles appeared to pull away in the third due to a 17-3 run, but Reese responded by scoring 11 of her season-high 24 points in the final quarter. Behind Reese’s dominance, Chicago was able to outscore Los Angeles in the fourth 31-23 to secure the win.

Reese’s 16 rebounds this game meant she recorded a WNBA record fourth straight game with 15 or more rebounds. Reese was also a key facilitator for the Sky and had seven assists. She is just the fourth player in WNBA history to record at least 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in a game, joining Candace Parker, Tina Thompson and Lisa Leslie. The feat hadn’t been accomplished in 13 years.

Both teams traded runs throughout the game, but Chicago responded each time Los Angeles appeared to pull away. Down one heading into the second quarter, the Sky had failed to hit a three-pointer in the game. Chicago responded with five threes in the period to take a six-point lead into halftime. Rachel Banham and Rebecca Allen each had two threes, and Kia Nurse added another. 

Banham and Nurse were two of the five Sky players to reach double digits. Banham finished the game with 13 points and four assists, and Nurse came off the bench to record 14 points, while shooting 60.0% from three. 

As a team, Chicago shot a tremendous 48.5% from the field for the game, led by Ariel Atkins who went 7 of 12. Atkins was crucial throughout the game as she finished with 20 points, which included two three-pointers, one of which put the game out of reach for the Sparks. She also knocked down the game-clinching free throws.

Elizabeth Williams was a force on both ends of the court as she had two important blocks in the second quarter to prevent the Sparks from gaining momentum. Williams finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals. 

The Sparks were led by Kelsey Plum who had 22 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Dearica Hamby added a double-double of her own with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Emma Cannon came off the bench for Los Angeles and was key in their third quarter run as she finished with 15 points. 

Azurá Stevens made her presence known down low as she had three blocks, two of which came back to back early in the fourth quarter. Stevens finished with 17 points and six rebounds to go with her blocks. 

At halftime, former Sky player and 2021 WNBA champion Candace Parker saw her jersey retired by the Sparks. 

Parker’s No. 3 jersey is set to be retired by Chicago on Aug. 25 when the Sky play the Aces. The Naperville, Ill. native played two seasons with Chicago and was instrumental in the Sky winning their first WNBA Championship.