It was a must-win game for the Chicago Sky. Aiming to hold onto the eighth playoff spot, they took on their rival, the Indiana Fever, before a star-studded crowd that included Shaquille O’Neal, Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe. And, it was Barbie Night. The Fever, led by Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and NaLyssa Smith, came in holding onto the seventh spot.
The Sky jumped out to a fast start, leading 21-9 in the opening four minutes. The tandem of Lindsay Allen and Michaela Onyenwere were instrumental as they pushed the tempo and scored in bunches. Onyenwere took over for starting guard Chennedy Carter, who was out due to COVID-19.
Then in the second quarter, the bench came in and things took a turn. The Fever began to take control of the game and the Sky’s largely struggling bench couldn’t keep up. The Sky were trying to stay competitive on the perimeter against the hot shooting exploits of Clark, Mitchell and Smith. Rachel Banham, Allen and Onyenwere were doing well from beyond the arc for Chicago, but the Sky’s bread-and-butter game in the post was struggling. Angel Reese was rebounding, but not scoring as much. Kamilla Cardoso wasn’t given the ball often enough in the paint.
The third quarter was not much better, as the Sky couldn’t get on a…
