UNCASVILLE, Conn. — If Sky fans hadn’t heard of Sun guard Bria Hartley before this season, they have now. For the second time this year, she sparked an incident, this time leading to multiple ejections.
It began in the second quarter, when Hartley and Rebecca Allen tangled going up for a rebound. Hartley pushed Allen, and Allen grabbed Hartley’s jersey — once while falling and again from the ground. Officials ruled it a “fight” and ejected both players.
Ariel Atkins also ran into the mix to confront Hartley and had to be restrained. She was ejected, too, for “being an escalator.”
The Sun then went on a 14-point run. It looked like the game might blow open, but the Sky battled back in the second half Wednesday before falling 71-62.
“Down two significant players, all you
can do is grind,” Sky center Elizabeth Williams said. “It was a tough situation to be in. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but we fought back.”
Coach Tyler Marsh said the chain reaction actually started on an earlier play when Hartley elbowed Allen in the head, but it wasn’t called by the referee.
“It’s usually an incident that goes overlooked that leads to something like that,” Marsh said.
The last time the teams played, Hartley pulled Angel Reese’s braid on a rebound, which led to double technicals. That night, the Sky had their full roster, got a triple-double from Reese and won handily.
This time, they couldn’t get it done with only eight remaining players. But they closed the gap to four points in the fourth quarter, led by Kamilla Cardoso. Maintaining her assertiveness late in games has been a challenge, but she scored 18 points in the second half against the Sun. She finished with 24 points and nine rebounds.
“I have no issues with how [Kamilla] played today,” Marsh said.
Reese back at practice
Reese missed her sixth consecutive game, but she did attend practice Monday in street clothes.
“She said she’s feeling a little better,” Williams said. “That’s really all you can
hope for. Backs are tough. But she’s been around more.”
Reese also missed the trip to Indianapolis and the home game last week against the Dream. Marsh said she’s focused on rehabbing her back injury.
“It’s hard for her not being out there for her teammates, but we want her to be as healthy as possible when she is ready to come back,” Marsh said.
He declined to say whether there have been discussions about shutting her down for the season, preferring to leave that to the medical staff.
“If she’s healthy, she wants to play, and we want her to be out there to be able to play,” he said. “We don’t want to put her in harm’s way to worsen any existing injury. With the games remaining, if she’s ready to go, then she’ll be out there.”
The Sky have 12 games left but no realistic shot at the playoffs.