TONIGHT’S GAME HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE

● With a late three pointer, Courtney Vandersloot surpassed Allie Quigley for the most career points in Chicago Sky team history with 3,002 points.

● Rookie Shyla Heal scored her first career points in the second quarter, going 2-2 from the free throw line to cut the Sky’s first half deficit to 21-18. She finished the night with two points and shot 0-3 from the field.

● Kahleah Copper led the way for the Sky and notched 21 points on 6-11 shooting from the field. It’s her second consecutive game with double-digit points and the third time in four games when she’s scored more than 10 points.

● Diamond DeShields finished with the second-most points for the Sky and tallied 17 points along with nine rebounds.

● Sky players combined to shoot 40.3% from the field, 35.3% from beyond the arc and an impressive 96.4% from the free-throw line.

● Rookie Stephanie Watts recorded her first career field goal with a layup in the 3rd quarter. She finished the game with two points on 1-4 shooting and pulled in four rebounds.

 

NEXT UP: The Sky (2-2) continues its homestand with the first of two games against the Los Angeles Sparks (0-2) on Friday, May 28. The game will be televised locally on WCIU and nationally on CBS Sports Network. The Sparks last played on Friday, May 21, when they lost to the Las Vegas Aces, 69-97.

 

KEY RUNS

● Atlanta led from the 7:48 mark in the first quarter and did not falter the rest of the game. Only twice was the score tied, with both occurrences in the opening minutes of the first quarter.

● In the first quarter, Atlanta went on a 10-0 run over a 2:31 minute span to take an early 18-8 lead.

● After the Sky cut the deficit to five early in the second quarter, the Dream went on a 8-0 run over a 1:35 minute stretch extending their lead to 33-20.

● In the second half of the third quarter, the Sky went on an 8-2 run over 1:26 minutes of play to cut Atlanta’s lead to eight points.

● Over the final 2:26 minutes of action, the Sky went on an 8-5 run but could not overcome Atlanta’s lead that it held steady all night.

 

KEY STATS

● Atlanta outscored the Sky 12-0 in bench points in the first quarter. The Dream’s second unit continued its strong performance throughout the remainder of the game finishing with a 28-15 edge.

● The Sky made 27 of 28 from the free-throw line, the second-most free throws on the season for the Sky since making 28 free throws against Atlanta on May 19.

● The Sky finished 10-34 from the field in the first half and scored 33 points after the first two quarters of play. The Sky did outscore the Dream 23-21 in the third quarter and 27-26 in the fourth.

● The Sky finished the night with only two fast break points. Coming into tonight’s game, the Sky averaged 12 points per game in that category.

 

CHICAGO NOTES

● The Sky scored 15 points in the first quarter, its lowest first quarter total since scoring 22 points in the opening frame at Washington on May 15th. Chicago’s 33 points at the half was also its lowest total through the first two quarters of the season. The Sky shot 1-9 from deep in the first half, and finished 6-17 in the game.

● The Sky trailed Atlanta by 10 points at halftime, which marked the first time all season the Sky had been trailing at the halfway point.

● The Sky committed 21 turnovers against the Dream, the highest single-game turnover total of its young season. In 2020, the Sky averaged 15.6 turnovers per game.

● Sky is 31-20 all-time vs. the Dream. Its 31 wins are the most against any WNBA franchise.

 

ATLANTA NOTES

● Rookie Aari McDonald recorded her first career field goal in the first quarter, converting on a three-point attempt at the 4:06 mark. The former No. 3 selection in April’s draft finished with nine points and five assists, both season highs, in just over seventeen minutes of action. She also led the Dream in assists.

● The Dream was up by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, the largest lead they’ve held over an opponent so far this season. Atlanta’s previous largest lead was eight points at Indiana on May 21.

● Monique Billings snagged her 500th rebound midway through the second quarter.

● Tiffany Hayes scored a season high 26 points, her previous high this season was 14 points against Indiana on May 21. It also marks her 46th career 20-point game, the second-most of any player in franchise history.