DiJonai Carrington checked in during the second quarter to loud applause. Sky fans had waited long enough for that moment.
Carrington was one of the team’s most exciting offseason additions — an athletic, defensive-minded wing who’s also one of the league’s most popular personalities. But she missed the first 27 games recovering from foot surgery.
She didn’t want to rush back or pressure herself to play before she was ready. Even the day before the game, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to play freely.
“I told myself the only way to figure it out is to jump in there and do it,” she said.
The jump, after 10 months of rehab, went swimmingly. Carrington brought her signature defensive intensity in 17 minutes off the bench, getting a key block down the stretch to help seal the 94-88 victory over the Sun.
“It was really just instinct,” Carrington said. “Once you’re out there, I got a little groove and I stopped thinking and just started playing instinctively and I think that’s the best way to play.”
Coach Tyler Marsh said the Sky got exactly what they anticipated when they signed her: aggressive without forcing the issue on offense, tough and physical on defense. Even on a minutes restriction, Carrington played the entire fourth quarter, in which the Sky erased a five-point deficit, built a 12-point lead and — closing games being their Achilles heel all season — actually held it.
What was the difference this time?
“We were getting stops,” Carrington said. “We were struggling to get stops late in games for the past couple months. And then two, we didn’t stop going to what was working. We didn’t overcomplicate it. What was working was [Kamilla Cardoso] in the middle of the floor. They didn’t have no answer for it, so until they could stop it, we was gonna keep going to it. She made them pay every time.”
The Sky initially defined themselves by their defense, particularly the ball pressure from their guards. That identity shifted as Courtney Vandersloot and Azurá Stevens got healthy and the offense took off — 94.4 points a game over the last 10.
Ideally, Carrington helps bridge both versions of the team.
Cardoso unplugs
The Sky kept going to the well with Cardoso in the fourth quarter. She all but clinched the game with 18 points in the frame, finishing with 26 and a season-high 11 free-throw attempts.
“The effort that she gave on both ends and the discipline that she showed on the defensive end in that…fourth quarter, it’s commendable,” Marsh said.
Clearly, a little rest agreed with her.
While All-Star Weekend festivities took over Chicago, Cardoso told the Sun-Times she was “in the house, just chilling.”
She made a few appearances around the city, including a visit with her former Nike program, HER Elite. But she skipped the All-Star Game itself and didn’t even tune in from home, fully unplugging for the weekend.
Stevens steps away
Stevens missed the Sun game for personal reasons after missing all three practices this week.
Rookie Aicha Coulibaly started in her place, though Chloe Bibby and Elizabeth Williams ended up sharing most of the minutes in the post.