MINNEAPOLIS — Just when the Sky (7-16) had begun to recover from the blow of Courtney Vandersloot’s ACL tear, the injury bug bit again.
Ariel Atkins, the team’s second-leading scorer and best perimeter defender, missed Tuesday’s 91-68 loss to the Lynx and is expected to miss at least two more games.. Coach Tyler Marsh called her injury “day-to-day,” but the Sky’s hardship signing of Marquesha Davis implies she will miss at least four games.
It’s a tough blow for a team that had finally found a groove. After a 3-11 start, the Sky went 4-5 in the nine games leading into the All-Star break, including a statement win over the first-place Lynx. The turnaround was driven by improved cohesion and an All-Star leap from Angel Reese, who averaged 18 points and 15 rebounds over that stretch.
“First half and second half [of the pre-All-Star break segment] we were two different teams,” Reese said pregame. “From that Atlanta game we picked it up and kept pushing through.”
Coming out of the break, the Sky wanted to be that second-half team — the one that plays with purpose and togetherness. But without Atkins, the Sky looked more like their early-season selves on Tuesday, plagued by turnovers and giving up a lead.
“Most of our inconsistencies start with taking care of the ball,” Marsh said. “That continues to be a sticking point for us.”
They coughed it up 12 times in the first half — six from Reese. Marsh has allowed some leeway as she adjusts to a bigger playmaking load, but turnovers like that will sink them fast. The Lynx built a 20-point lead in the third quarter, and the game was never close again. By the fourth, fans at Target Center were feeling themselves, chanting: “Whose house? Our house.”
The Sky’s execution wasn’t great, but the bigger issue was who wasn’t available. The absence of both Atkins and Michaela Onyenwere — who sat with a knee injury — left the team short on perimeter defense and downhill capabilities.
“Ariel does a lot for us on both ends of the floor,” Kia Nurse said. “Nobody can step up and do what she does, but we have to raise our game a little bit to cover up for some of the stuff we missed.”
Atkins was averaging 13.9 points per game and ranked top 20 in fast break scoring, giving the Sky a needed burst in transition. Defensively, she sets the tone with ball pressure. Without her, the Sky struggled to stay in front of the Lynx’s guards and gave up too many clean looks.
Kamilla Cardoso also picked up her fourth foul early in the third quarter. Since returning from national-team duty, she hasn’t quite looked like the player she was before the break.
Still, Marsh believes the Sky can make progress in the second half of the season.
“The approach, the attention to detail, the effort can continue to be consistent,” Marsh said. “That doesn’t have to change.”
To help replenish the roster, the Sky signed Davis — the Liberty’s 2024 first-round pick — to a seven-day hardship contract. Davis, who, was waived earlier this month, gives the Sky a much-needed slasher in the backcourt.
“She’s athletic, has good size, can get downhill and get to the basket,” Marsh said. “That’s something we can use for sure.”
Davis didn’t dress Tuesday and will need time to get up to speed with the team’s system. She’s not really a replacement for Atkins — she lacks the veteran presence and built-in chemistry — but she does bring something the Sky can use. While most of the Sky’s guards are spot-up shooters, Davis can put pressure on the rim.
Still, injuries have knocked the Sky off track and left their playoff hopes on shakier ground. They’re four games back of the final spot — currently held by the Mystics — with 21 games to go and the third-toughest remaining schedule in the league, per opponent win percentage.
The Sky will test their luck against the fourth-place Storm on Thursday and the sixth-place Fever on Sunday at home.