Four Bold Predictions for Sky vs. Sun
What has shaped up to be one of the better rivalries in the past decade takes center stage at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday. The Chicago Sky (8-23) travel to the East Coast to play the Connecticut Sun (5-26).
These two basketball teams have gotten rather familiar with one another since 2020. For three seasons in a row, the Sky and the Sun met in the playoffs. They took turns ousting each other.
This is also another battle between two first-year head coaches. Tyler Marsh and his Sky won the first meeting earlier this season. In the 78-66 blowout win on the road, Chicago won on the heels of Hailey Van Lith's career-high 16-point performance.
With that being said, here are four bold prediction's about the season's second meeting between the Sky and Sun on Wednesday.
1. Chicago wins by double digits, again.
Considering these are the two worst offenses in the league, the Sky are facing an opponent who is in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
The Sky are terrible against teams with a winning average (1-18). Luckily for them, the Sun have a record that's even worse their own. In games against teams with losing records, Chicago is tremendously better (4-5).
Furthermore, three of the last five losses by Connecticut have been by ten points or more.
2. Kamilla Cardoso will record another double-double.
Angel Reese is average 14.2 points and 12.6 rebounds per game this season. Despite also averaging another team-high 3.7 assists, the second-year forward is out Wednesday night due to an ailing back injury.
The Sky's starting center's numbers are fairly comparable. Even though Cardoso hasn't had a double-double since the Sky's win against the Washington Mystics, she is averaging 12 points and just over 10 rebounds in the past five games for Chicago.
3. Rebecca Allen scores at least 10 points against the Sun.
While she hasn't done it yet this month, Allen accomplished this feat four times including a 27-point effort against the Dallas Wings.
Entering Wednesday night, she is averaging 6.1 points per game. Allen shoots nearly 36% from deep in her career.
This game could be the catalyst for an offensive explosion from the nine-year veteran. While the Sky give up a slightly better shooting average from behind the arc, the Sun give up a league high 46.1% of their opponent's overall field goals.
4. The Sky's bench will outscore the Sun's second unit.
Chicago's struggles on offense has stemmed from a wide variety of issues. With injuries to Courtney Vandersloot and others, it's been difficult for the Sky to exert themselves scoring-wise.
In their last five games, Chicago's bench has only scored more than 15 points twice. Neither of those games were a win for the Sky.
Rookie guard Maddie Westbeld has scored at least nine points off the bench during that same stretch. If Westbeld and Van Lith check into the game as subs, expect Marsh's second unit to shine and outperform Connecticut's bench on Wednesday night.
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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.