Sky's Biggest Struggle Continues Against Fever
The Chicago Sky have lost three times as many games as they've won entering Friday's game against the Indiana Fever. That shouldn't come to anyone's surprise given on unfortunate trend for the team this season.
At Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Sky were outscored 31-15 in the first quarter. That's not an one-off as it's happened quite a bit this season.
When a team, like Chicago, gets down early, it's hard for them to battle back and win. That's been the pattern for the 2025 version of the Sky under first-year head coach Tyler Marsh.
the first five ⭐️@OlaySkin | #skytown pic.twitter.com/eovIRv87xl
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) September 5, 2025
Take for instance the Sky's loss agains the Las Vegas Aces. Chicago gave up 20 first quarter points while scoring just 14. Yet, they lost the game by only five points.
Before that game, the Connecticut Sun defeated the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena. The score in that contest after the first quarter was 28-13. Down 15 points heading into the second quarter, the Sky still managed to only lose by ten to the Sun.
AA for 2️⃣#skytown pic.twitter.com/EGmXHOXeRL
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) September 5, 2025
There's more first quarter futility from the Sky.
Chicago started the season 0-4 before winning their first game. They only won back-to-back games twice. After the second time that happened, the Sky went on a season-worst eight-game losing streak.
During the second loss of that span, Chicago was outscored 23-10 in the first quarter against the Atlanta Dream. In that stretch, the Fever got the best of the Sky early on, 26-13, in the first quarter, during a mid-July game.
Indiana spanked Chicago in the first quarter of their game on August 9. The Fever scored 25 points to the Sky's 16 points. A nine-point deficit doomed the 2021 WNBA champions from the start, again.
Chicago has not been a strong first-half team in a majority of their games. For a team with playoff aspiration, the Sky fell short on that goal from the start.
Yet, when Chicago gets off to a great start, like they did on Wednesday, the Sky never looked back after a 28-10 first-quarter performance as a team. This is the first year for Chicago with Tyler Marsh as their head coach.
The Sky's front office made the tough decision to move on from Teresa Weatherspoon after a 13-27 season. Though there are four more games this year, Chicago has yet to match their win total from 2024.
Chicago has not been above .500 since May 23, 2024 when the Sky started last season at 2-1. First quarter blunders are not helping their cause any, either.
If the Sky want to end their current playoff drought and do better, then Chicago has to get the most from their players and especially early on. Their next game is Sunday on the road against the Aces.
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My name is Scott Conrad and I am a Contributor for the Chicago Sky with Sports Illustrated.com. I am also a Contributor with FanSided on NinerNoise, as well as Da Windy City. In addition, I am the Site Editor/Expert for The View from Avalon. I spent two seasons (2015 & 2016) with the Tampa Bay Times as a Correspondent covering high school football. I am a two-time published author with more work to come. In my teenage years, I started watching both MLS and WNBA start in 1996 and grow to be the juggernauts they are in their respective sports. Much love to the career on and off the court for fellow-Napervillian and former Sky forward Candace Parker. Outside of the sports journalism world, I am a travel volleyball coach. I accepted the Head Coach position with Greater Cincinnati Volleyball Club for their U13-2 team. In terms of active sports, I play volleyball, soccer, softball, kickball and train in mixed martial arts.