Although the Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun already have been eliminated from playoff contention, both are intent on building some late-season momentum.
After winning consecutive games for the first time this season, the visiting Sun will be out for three in a row Saturday when they face the Sky, who just earned an upset victory over the reigning WNBA champions.
Connecticut (8-27) is last in the WNBA standings but has won three of four and just earned back-to-back victories over the Washington Mystics. Thursday’s 67-56 home win over the Mystics marked the third time in four games they held an opponent to fewer than 70 points.
“It’s just a credit to our toughness, our togetherness. We’re not going to settle,” Connecticut’s Aaliyah Edwards said to NBC Sports Boston after scoring 10 points Thursday.
The team’s recent success has come amid reports of a potential sale and relocation of the franchise.
“No matter the standings, no matter the headlines out there in the media, we still have pride, and we’re going to play with that every night,” Edwards said.
The Sun’s 3-1 stretch began with a 71-62 home victory over the Sky on Aug. 13. Connecticut’s Leila Lacan had 17 points, five assists and four rebounds and Tina Charles scored 15 points. The defense held Chicago to 38.7-percent shooting, including 5 of 20 from 3-point range.
On Thursday, Chicago made half of its 62 shot attempts, held a 42-27 rebounding advantage and kept New York to 41.7-percent shooting during a 91-85 road victory over the Breanna Stewart-less Liberty.
Kamilla Cardoso had 22 points with 15 rebounds and Angel Reese had 21 points and 10 boards for the Sky (9-26), who snapped a five-game losing streak by winning for just the second time in 15 contests.
“For us, we feel like as a team we kind of, in a way, underachieved some this year,” Chicago head coach Tyler Marsh said. “There’s still reason and motivation to get up and finish this season out strong.”
Reese has 40 total points in her two games back from missing nearly a month with back problems. Cardoso, meanwhile, had 24 points with nine rebounds in the loss to the Sun last week.
Charles, who scored 21 points for Connecticut on Thursday, averaged 17.5 points in the last four games.
–Field Level Media
