Gabriela Jaquez provides a refresher on why the Sky drafted her at No. 5

With six UCLA players drafted into the WNBA this season, Sky rookie Gabriela Jaquez rarely goes long without facing an old teammate. Last week, it was Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic of the Mystics.

On Tuesday, it was her good friend Kiki Rice. Drafted by the Tempo one spot behind Jaquez at No. 6, Rice has had an impressive rookie season, running the offense and averaging 13.4 points.

But Jaquez won the matchup Tuesday night, scoring 18 points in the Sky’s 97-85 win over the Tempo.

“You can tell who she is every single time she steps on the floor,” Rice said of Jaquez. “She’s gonna play hard, she’s gonna find ways to score.

“She’s the kind of player you want on your team.”

Jaquez fell out of the Sky rotation midway through the season and averaged just seven points, so Rice owns the better stat line for the year.

But now that Jaquez is back in a starting role, she’s showed more of why the Sky bet on her, averaging 14 points in the last three games.

First timers

The Sky’s late-season focus on their younger players has given two recent additions a chance to play.

Development player Morgan Maly scored the first basket of her WNBA career against the Dream, then followed it with eight points and four rebounds against the Tempo.

“I’m just trying to come in here and learn and try to fit the system and what they want to do,” she told the Sun-Times before the game.

Kate Martin, another development player whom the Sky picked up after the Sparks released her, also got her first minutes. The Edwardsville, Illinois native hit her first three in a Sky uniform and had her mom and her old trainer in the stands to watch her do it.