Two Sky Players Ejected from Sun Game
The Chicago Sky came to Uncasville, Connecticut, to play against the Connecticut Sun. Their second meeting of the season may be the most heated ever between the two WNBA Eastern Conference dwellers.
Prior to this game, the Sky have lost four out of their last five and nine out of their last ten. The Sun have been equally dismal as they enter Wednesday's game on a five game losing streak and have only won twice in their last ten contests.
As Chicago and Connecticut appear to be missing the playoffs this year, three players between both teams were ejected during a melee on the court.
Who was involved in the brawl between the Sky and the Sun?
ESPN.com was one of the first to report the altercation between Chicago and Connecticut. The Sun's Bria Hartley was involved, as well as the Sky's Rebecca Allen and Ariel Atkins.
With 6:35 remaining in the second quarter, Allen is taken to the ground aggressively by Hartley. Seconds later, Atkins comes rushing in to the defense of her teammate.
The referees break up the skirmish but not before issuing a trio of ejections. Prior to the altercation, a missed called occurred in which Hartley's elbow made blatant contact with Allen's face earlier in the game.
At halftime, the Sky trail the Sun, 44-28. Atkins and Allen combined for 15 minutes on the court before their dismissal. One of the starting guards for Chicago, Atkins had six points and Allen came off the bench to contribute a pair of rebounds.
Connecticut's Hartley exited the game after 10 minutes of playing time. She missed all three of her shots from floor on Wednesday night.
With Atkins and Allen being removed for the rest of the game, other players from the Sky, like rookie guard Hailey Van Lith could see an increase in their playing time on Wednesday night.
Why does this feel like deja vu between the Sky and the Sun?
That's because Hartley was the aggressor during the last game between these two teams. On June 15, earlier this season, the Connecticut forward was issued two technicals in that contest.
The refs tossed her out before she was caught pulling Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese's hair. Chicago won that game by a score of 78-66.
Chicago and Connecticut also played each other in the playoffs three seasons in a row from 2020-2022.With two more games against the Sun still, the Sky will have the luxury of both being played at Wintrust Arena.
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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.