Top Takeaways From Sky's Loss to Aces
The Chicago Sky were just a few steps behind of the Las Vegas Aces in a 79-74 loss on Chicago's home floor. Every time it seemed they were within reach, the Aces would pull away with a gut-punch shot or a big-time stop that would all but extinguish the Sky's snowballing momentum. The trio of Ariel Atkins, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso led the bout against head coach Tyler Marsh's former team, while guard Jackie Young took point for the Aces with a red-hot scoring night. It would be Chicago's first loss to Las Vegas of the year, but the game still looked like a decent launching point for their next two matchups in September.
Sky fall despite winning rebounding battle
Both Reese and Cardoso, who have already proven to be two of the league's best rebounding bigs, continued to provide extra opportunities for the Sky on the glass as they hauled in 27 rebounds, including eight on offense. Chicago notched 42 boards to the Aces' 24, including a full 26 in the second half, as the duo kept it in fighting form even after a few scoring surges from Las Vegas. It would be the ninth time Reese has logged 15 or more rebounds this season.
The Sky have outrebounded their opponents in their last three games, including in their last triumphant win over the New York Liberty. Chicago can at least take pride in its rebounding prowess under the guidance of its young big duo, which will be needed to at least steady the ship before they face the Libs one more time to cap off their season.
Ariel Atkins highlights one of the Sky's biggest needs
Atkins ended the night with a season-high 30 points as she became a walking bucket against the Aces. She became the spark that would keep the Sky's offense alive as she cut, drove and shot her way to a number of tough buckets. The two-time All-Star would add seven assists as she used her vision to find Chicago's bigs for easy shots. Even though her big night wasn't enough to push the Sky in front, she highlighted one of the squad's biggest needs to reignite one an offense in desperate need of a scoring punch.
The Sky have been in need of talented scorers who could keep things going when they lose their groove on offense since their 2025 campaign first tipped off. Chicago's offense can come to a screeching halt when things don't go its way, a point they'll need to address during what could be a defining offseason for the league as a whole. Atkins, the Washington Mystics' current leader in all-time made 3-pointers, may need to be a must-keep for the Sky before they look for their next scoring guard of the future in the next few drafts.
The Sky will move on to face the Phoenix Mercury at 9 p.m. CDT on Thursday in PHX Arena. The game will be broadcast on The U.
Alex Sabri began contributing to the BIGPLAY Network in September 2025. He also contributes to Chicago Sky on SI and FanSided's High Post Hoops. The Purdue and Cleveland State graduate has over two years of journalism experience in collegiate and professional sports, as well as local journalism, and a few more years of sports blogging experience. Though he specializes in covering Ohio sports for BIGPLAY, his interests include the NBA, WNBA, NFL, Cleveland Guardians and college football and basketball.