For most of the season, the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky have felt connected as a pair of Midwestern teams carving out a new identity around young stars.
They both set new expectations with their top draft picks — Caitlin Clark for the Fever, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese for the Sky. And in the opening weeks, they remained in lockstep through growing pains and flashes of promise.
But after the Olympic break, something shifted.
The Sky lost five of six games as they struggled to recalibrate after trading Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun. Meanwhile, the Fever found their footing as Clark and center Aliyah Boston started to click, surging into Chicago with a fresh wave of confidence after winning four of five.
And in a 100-81 blowout Friday night at Wintrust Arena in the teams’ final meeting of the season, the pendulum fully swung in the Fever’s favor as the Sky descend into a free fall with their fifth consecutive loss.
“We need to play desperate,” guard Rachel Banham said. “We’re a younger team, but who cares? No one cares. No one feels bad for us. We got to play through it. We got to start playing desperate. Do we want to go to the playoffs or not? Are we going to just pack our bags and go home? Let’s figure it out right now.”
At this point, the Sky knew what to expect from any matchup against the Fever.
They knew it would draw a sellout crowd, driving one of the highest ticket sales in the league all season. And they knew it would draw celebrities — retired Seattle Storm star Sue Bird, former U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe, Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, Bulls first-round draft pick Matas Buzelis and Bears players D’Andre Swift and Tremaine Edmunds among them Friday.
And after three grueling matchups against the Fever this season, the Sky knew to expect a full-on battle on the court. The Sky threw the first punch, taking an early 12-point lead off a flurry of four 3-pointers — their most in a quarter this season. The Fever responded with a 29-9 run, clawing to a 10-point lead as Clark and Kelsey Mitchell unleashed an onslaught of their own from behind the arc.
As the Sky cooled off from deep, their offense sank into a familiar sluggish state as the Fever roared to a 27-point lead.
Photos: Indiana Fever 100, Chicago Sky 81
This wasn’t a game the Sky could win with stars alone — especially with guard Chennedy Carter sidelined for a second straight game in COVID-19 protocol. But the Sky suffered heavily from subpar games from Cardoso and Reese, who combined for 16 points as they struggled to overcome matchups against Boston and Nalyssa Smith.
The matchup with Clark was reserved for role players such as Michaela Onyenwere and Diamond DeShields, who were saddled with the impossible task of slowing one of the most dynamic scorers in the league. That desperation showed as both players picked up flagrant-1 fouls in attempts to stop Clark on her way to the basket.
Clark won the battle of the front-runners for Rookie of the Year, finishing with a season-high 31 points and adding 12 assists, earning a roar of cheers when she checked out of the game with more than three minutes remaining. And while Reese had 10 points and 11 rebounds for her 23rd double-double to break the WNBA rookie record and pass Sylvia Fowles for the franchise season mark, half of her points came long after the game was decided.
The Sky attempted their most 3-pointers of the season, finishing 9-for-25. With their three stars silenced or sidelined, Onyenwere led the the Sky with 20 points and Lindsay Allen added 19.
Now, the Sky’s path forward is murky.
That was true before Friday. The team lost its rudder after the Mabrey trade. The offense grinds to a halt when Carter isn’t on the court. And despite making major improvements to their games, Cardoso and Reese still haven’t proved they can anchor the scoring consistently.
But after a fifth consecutive loss, the Sky (11-20) are teetering on the precipice of a complete collapse. They don’t face a sub-500 team for two more games. And they hold only a half-game advantage over the Atlanta Dream for the last playoff spot. Meanwhile, the Fever (16-16) are soaring into stable postseason positioning and even toward the potential of contending past the first round.
The Sky still have time to right the ship. But with three weeks left in the season, Friday’s loss fully propelled them into a make-or-break stretch.
“We can go up or we can go down,” Reese said. “We don’t want to continue to lose. It’s not a good feeling for any of us.”
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