Chicago Sky take the Fever to the limit

The Chicago Sky almost pulled one out of the old magic hat Saturday afternoon at the United Center.

The Sky were minus early-season leading scorer Rickea Jackson (out for the season with injury), minus current leading scorer Sydney Taylor (groin injury, day-to-day status), minus projected leading scorer Skylar Diggins (still out), and minus the game’s leading scorer DiJonai Carrington (game ejection, see more below). But they still took the Indiana Fever to the limit, with the final score being 90-86 in favor of the Fever.

It was a game effort for sure, in front of over 16,000 at the United Center. The game was played at the United Center because when Caitlin Clark and company come to town, the Sky’s normal home at Wintrust Arena is just not quite big enough.

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Many times during the game, it looked like the Fever were going to pull away.  Caitlin Clark and her backcourt “partner in crime,” Kelsey Mitchell, both were on fire, with Clark scoring 26 points and Mitchell 27.

But the fierce competitive spirit of these ladies in blue would not let the Fever go. They kept fighting back despite being severely shorthanded.

Natasha Cloud was brilliant late, Rachel Banham off the bench hit big shots (17 points), and Kamilla Cardosa provided some solid post scoring as well. Jacey Sheldon, Gabriela Jaquez, Azura Stevens and Courtney Vandersloot all had their moments as well in keeping the Sky within shouting distance.

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As for the saga of DiJonai Carrington? She has been a huge spark plug off the bench of late, and was again Saturday when she produced eight quick points in just over three minutes.  But whenFever guard (and equally controversial player) Sophie Cunningham had a steal and what appeared to be an uncontested layup, Carrington had other thoughts. She raced down the court and hard fouled Cunningham, with both hand and arm going across her face.

A minor scuffle ensued, and when it was over the referees went to the TV monitor to review. It was determined, after several minutes, that Carrington’s foul warranted a flagrant 2 level—which calls for automatic ejection from the game.

So an already depth-depleted Sky squad lost one more.

Despite it all, the Sky kept fighting and almost pulled out a victory from the depths of defeat.

Almost. But not quite.

Next up is a Monday, Aug. 10, tilt with the Seattle Storm.