After a blowout loss last week, the Sky’s coaching staff told players to look in the mirror. The message: bring more consistent energy and effort.
On Tuesday at Wintrust Arena, the Sky faced a different kind of mirror — the Sparks, who entered the game just one spot ahead of them in the standings in 10th.
“I think both teams are hungry, and I don’t want to use the word desperate, but, you know, another word for that,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said before the game.
Angel Reese put it more forcefully afterward: “We’re tired of getting cussed out [by the coaching staff].”
It showed on the court. The Sky were the more desperate team, coming away with a 97-86 win.
But it didn’t look that way at first.
The Sparks dominated early, jumping out to a double-digit lead. It looked like the same old story for the Sky — getting torched from beyond the arc, with Sparks center Azura Stevens hitting four threes. But the Sky responded with timely runs and key adjustments.
“She was busting my ass in the first half,” Reese said of her matchup with Stevens. “Second half, she had four points.”
The game went back and forth, but the parallels between the teams run deeper.
Both are building around second-year cornerstones. Both struggle to defend and take care of the ball. And both are still searching for answers at point guard.
The Sparks are without their top two point guards and had to sign Shey Peddy to a hardship contract.
The Sky have been in scramble mode since Courtney Vandersloot’s season-ending knee injury June 7. They had won just one game since — against the last-place Sun — and have tried just about everything to fill the position.
Ariel Atkins has started at point. She’s likely their best remaining playmaker, but also their best scorer, which puts a lot on her plate. They’ve also leaned on Rachel Banham, a steady ballhandler who limits turnovers, though she’s more of a spot-up shooter than a true facilitator.
Then there’s rookie Hailey Van Lith, a more natural point guard still adjusting to the speed of the WNBA.
Early in the game, her dribble moves failed to create much separation and seemed to tire her out more than her defender. But she found her rhythm, finishing a driving layup and later converting an and-one against fellow rookie Sarah Ashlee Barker.
She also had a key strip in the third quarter that led to a three on the other end, tying the game for the first time. The Sky took their first lead with 7:22 left in the fourth on a Kamilla Cardoso bucket inside. And this time, they held on.
More than the final score, it was the way the Sky won that stood out. They kept turnovers in check. They ran the offense through Cardoso, who scored a career-high 27 points on 10-for-15 shooting. Reese added 17 rebounds and scored efficiently, going 6-for-12 from the field.
They weren’t lights-out from three-point range but were timely and effective, shooting 6-for-18. Even Cardoso — with the shot clock winding down — drained the first three-pointer of her WNBA career.
Wintrust came alive in a way it hasn’t all season. The Sky entered with just one home win, and most losses had been blowouts. But on Tuesday, the building buzzed.
The Sky’s coaching staff was right. After back-to-back losses to two of the league’s best teams, the Sky needed a look in the mirror. And this time, they saw something worth building on.