2015 Season Recap: August & September
The Chicago Sky battled through the month of August, winning its seven games by close margins. The Sky promoted Breast Health Awareness during the week of August 4 to raise awareness and support the fight against breast cancer. Chicago swept Indiana for the first time ever with the 106-82 home victory on August 4. In the 2015 series against the Fever, the Sky won its four games by an average of 19.75 points per game. Elena Delle Donne averaged 22.0 points and 9.3 rebounds in the series against Indiana.
On August 9, Delle Donne recorded her fifth game with more than 30 points scored when she notched 33 points against Phoenix. The Sky’s 25,000th franchise point was scored in Los Angeles on August 16 by Cappie Pondexter. Chicago concluded the month with a trio of down-to-the-wire victories over Atlanta and Washington and a close loss to Connecticut.
As the regular season began to wrap up, the Sky continued to work towards clinching a playoff berth. With Chicago’s win against Atlanta and Connecticut’s loss to New York on August 29th, the Sky clinched its third consecutive playoff berth. Courtney Vandersloot, for the first time in her five-year career, was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played in the week of August 31 through September 6. That week, Vandersloot paced the Eastern Conference in three-point shooting (.833, 5-of-6) and field goal percentage (.684, 13-of-19).
The month of September was a month of milestones for several Sky players. Courtney Vandersloot made the 100th three-pointer in her career on September 3 at New York; and, three days later against Seattle, Elena Delle Donne scored her 1,500th WNBA career point. Delle Donne reached another career milestone on September 11 versus Tulsa, as she made her 100th three-point field goal. Allie Quigley achieved the same feat on September 13 at Connecticut.
Although Delle Donne grabbed much attention for her huge performances during the 2015 season, she was also honored for her community contributions in 2014. For her efforts with Special Olympics, the Delaware 87ers and the Lyme Research Alliance, Delle Donne was presented with the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award for the second year in a row on September 3.
Chicago met up with Indiana in the first round of the 2015 WNBA Playoffs. As the second seed, the Sky held home court advantage and returned to its roots at the UIC Pavilion for Game 1. Chicago pulled out a nail-biting 77-72 win powered by 22 points from Allie Quigley. But, the Sky was kept from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals with back-to-back defeats by Indiana.
Despite an unpleasant end to the postseason, Sky fans had several things to be excited about. Delle Donne received the 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player Award. Quigley was named the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year for the second year in a row. And, Peak Performer Awards went to Vandersloot for leading the league in assists per game and to Delle Donne for leading in points per game. Both Vandersloot and Delle Donne paced the WNBA in their respective categories for the entire season.
The team, as a whole, set numerous WNBA and franchise records in the 2015 season. The Sky had the best home record in the WNBA’s Eastern Conference. Chicago posted a 13-4 record in games played at Allstate Arena and its second-best overall season record in franchise history (21-13, .618). At the conclusion of the regular season, Chicago led the league in scoring with 82.9 points per game and in free throw percentage (82.6%). The team set a league record for fewest turnovers in a season after averaging 12.09 mishaps per game. The team received Player of the Week honors a total of seven times by three different players, making the Sky the only team to do so in the 2015 season. Chicago topped its previous record for blocks in a season with 227. The previous record was 225 set in 2013. And, the Sky is the only team in WNBA history to record three seasons with more than 200 blocks.
The players, individually, broke and set league records as well as Sky franchise records. With 54 free throws made consecutively in June, Delle Donne set a franchise record. Vandersloot broke her own season record of total assists in the 2015 season with a total of 198 assists. Delle Donne became the sixth player in WNBA history to make 200 free throws in a season and also the only player to reach 200 with the least amount of missed free throws (11). Over the course of the season, Cappie Pondexter moved to the