Sky Struggles in Loss to Lynx
The Chicago Sky hosted a familiar opponent as they faced the Minnesota Lynx for the second time in three days. Head coach Tyler Marsh enjoyed seeing his team win their fourth home game of the year on Sunday against the WNBA's best team. Unfortunately, their success could not be duplicated.
On Monday night, the Lynx reminded Chicago and the rest of the league why they top the standings and won (91-78) with ease. This time, the Sky didn't have the luxury of putting up 57 first-half points. Instead, their offense struggled as it scored less and less with each passing quarter of play.
Here are the four biggest reasons Chicago couldn't pull off a second consecutive win against Minnesota.
1. Ariel Atkins and Kamilla Cardoso struggled to produce.
On Monday night, these two members of the starting lineup combined for just eight points. Angel Reese was one of only three players who scored in double figures against the Lynx.
Neither Atkins nor Cardoso got involved in the offense the way they did on Saturday. They had 27 and 17 points each, respectively, in Minnesota's 87-81 victory then. They combined for 17 makes on 33 attempts, a far cry better than the pair going four out of ten from the field.
Cardoso made seven of her nine free throws on Saturday, while Atkins made both of her attempts from the line. Not one time against the Lynx on Monday night did either player make it to the charity stripe.
2. The Sky had no answer for Napheesa Collier.
Both Chicago and Minnesota went 13-for-16 from the free throw line in the second of the back-to-back games. The starting forward Collier was a perfect 11-for-11, herself on Monday night.
She made scoring 29 points look effortless. Collier made half of her 14 shots from the floor while recording three rebounds and five assists. The former UConn Husky also displayed her defense prowess against the Sky as she collected three steals and a block.
Collier entered this contest with a league-leading 23.6 points per game average. She only added to it against Chicago while going four-for seven behind the arc.
3. More than just the WNBA's leading scorer got hot from 3.
On Saturday, the Chicago Sky got outdone behind from downtown. Minnesota made a third of their 30 looks from behind the arc.
Two days later, the Lynx connected on 12 more three-pointers. The Sky only had seven as they are towards the bottom of the league in this category.
Bridget Carleton and Kayla McBride combined for six three-pointers, with three each. Courtney Williams added two more for the Lynx.
4. Chicago keeps losing the turnover battle.
Entering Monday's rematch against Minnesota, the Sky averaged a league worst 15.6 turnovers a game. That number grew more following their latest loss as they committed 18. That's eight more than what their opponent had.
Despite winning on Saturday against the Lynx, Chicago had 17 turnovers, nearly double what Minnesota had. The Sky have now coughed up possession of the ball at least 15 times in each of their last three games.
So far in July, Atkins and fellow starter Rachel Banham have had at least two games with four turnovers or more. Forward Angel Reese has had four games already with at least five turnovers or more. The Sky has only played five games this month following Monday night's game.
If Chicago wants to get back to their winning ways and back to .500 at home, they have to cut down on turning over the ball. Chicago continues their homestand against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday.
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.