Sky Comeback Falls Short in Road Loss to Storm; 74-71

FINAL SCORE: CHI 71, SEA 74

CHICAGO SKY (2-2) @ SEATTLE STORM (2-3)

CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA | 2022 WNBA REGULAR SEASON | MAY 18, 2022

 

 

TONIGHT’S GAME HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE

• Two-time WNBA Finals MVP Breanna Stewart returns after a two-game absence (health and safety protocols); Stewart reached 200 career steals tonight

• This game featured two of just nine active WNBA MVPs in Candace Parker and Breanna Stewart

• Tonight was a homecoming game for the Sky’s Courtney Vandersloot, who grew up in Kent, Washington and attended Kentwood High School. She also attended Gonzaga University from 2007-2011, where she played collegiately

 

NEXT UP:  The Sky finish its three-game road trip in the nation’s capital against the Washington Mystics, who are tied with the Atlanta Dream and Las Vegas Aces for the best record in the WNBA at 4-1. Tipoff at Entertainment and Sports Arena is at 2:00 p.m. CT and will be aired on ABC and NBA TV Canada.

 

This will be the Sky’s second Commissioner’s Cup game of the season. They’re currently 1-0 after defeating the Liberty at home on May 11.

 

With two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne back in the fold after playing just three games over the last two seasons, the Mystics are off to their best start since their championship season in 2019. The former Sky star leads the Mystics in scoring with 18.6 points but has received help from a couple of 2019 title teammates, guard Natasha Cloud, who is averaging 15.3 points, and guard Ariel Atkins, who is averaging 15.0 points. Shakira Austin, the third pick in the2022 WNBA Draft, is coming off her best game of the season, where she led the team with 20 points and 8 rebounds in the win over the Dallas Wings.

KEY RUNS

• The Storm started the game with a 5-0 run and didn’t relinquish the lead until a Rebekah Gardner jumper with 37.3 seconds left in the first quarter

• The Storm went on a 14-3 run in the final 4:32 of the second quarter to take a 12-point lead into the half, 46-34

• Back-to-back threes to start the fourth quarter extended the Storm’s lead to 15, 64-49

• The Sky cut the lead down to three, 74-71, with 35 seconds left in the game after a 15-5 run over a four-minute stretch that started at the 5:02 mark of the fourth

 

KEY STATS

• Azurá Stevens led the Sky with seven first-quarter points while Eze Magbedor scored 10 points for the Storm

• After missing her first 5 shots, Candace Parker scored her first points of the game on a three-pointer with 5:40 left in the second quarter

• After committing just 12 turnovers over the past two games, the Sky committed 19 total turnovers for the game

• The Storm outrebounded the Sky by eight, 46-38

• The Storm scored 21 points off 19 Sky turnovers while the Sky scored just two points off 17 Storm turnovers

 

CHICAGO NOTES

• Courtney Vandersloot made her 300th career start

• Azurá Stevens has scored a three-pointer in each of the first four games this season

• Azurá Stevens went back to the locker room during a time out called by the Storm at the 5:31 mark of the second quarter, but entered back into the game with 3:13 left in the first half

• Candace Parker picked up her 3rd foul at the 3:55 mark of the second quarter, but remained in the game

• Courtney Vandersloot hit her 300th career three-pointer with a triple at the 5:34 mark of the fourth quarter

• Courtney Vandersloot finished with 12 assists, her second double-digit assist game of the season and the 50th of her career

 

SEATTLE NOTES

• Breanna Stewart returned and scored her first points since May 8th on a lay-up at the 8:25 mark of the first quarter

• Epiphany Prince hit her 350th career three-pointer with a left wing three at the 1:36 mark of the first period

• Breanna Stewart swiped the 200th steal of her career with 8 seconds left in the first half

• Breanna Stewart tied a career-high four steals, a feat she’s achieved seven times before

• Briann January passed Danielle Robinson for 16th on the All-Time Assists list with her 1,267th assist on a pass to a Breanna Stewart bucket at the 0:52 mark of the third quarter

• Ezi Magbegor tied with a career-high with 21 points, which she first set in against the Sky last season on August 15, 2021

• Jantel Lavender reached 1,500 career rebounds with her fifth rebound of the game at the 3:35 mark of the third quarter

NOTES: Tonight’s game book and a PDF version of the postgame notes are attached to this email

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Kelly Kane — Director of Public Relations | kkane@chicagosky.net | (312) 994-5984

Carly Ebisuya — PR Coordinator | cebisuya@chicagosky.net | (714) 305-6808

 

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