The Chicago Sky are coming off a win but the sudden loss of their coach.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Fever look to snap a three-game losing skid on Sunday when they host the Sky in Indianapolis.
Sky coach/general manager James Wade is departing the franchise after being hired as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors. Emre Vatansever will be Chicago’s interim coach and general manager.
The Fever (5-10) capped a lackluster four-game road trip with an 85-63 setback to the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday. Indiana has lost twice to the WNBA-worst Mercury, who only have three victories on the season.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 15 points and rookie Aliyah Boston finished with just six for the Fever, who shot just 33.3 percent from the floor (24 of 72).
“The ball wasn’t falling for us,” Indiana coach Christie Sides said, per the Indianapolis Star. “We were tipping it around, so they just came out and punched us first. And that’s what we’ve been talking about. We’ve got to come out and make people feel us.”
The Sky (7-9) felt Boston in each of the teams’ first two meetings. The top overall pick of the 2023 WNBA Draft collected 25 points and 11 rebounds in Indiana’s 108-103 overtime loss in Chicago on June 6 and had 19 and eight, respectively, in a 92-90 win on June 15. Mitchell made a step-back jumper with 1.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to win that contest.
Marina Mabrey scored 28 points in the first encounter with the Fever and a career-high 36 more in the rematch. She added 15 on Friday as the Sky posted an 86-78 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks.
Courtney Williams followed up a season-high 21-point performance in Wednesday’s 80-63 win over the Sparks by recording her first career triple-double. She finished with 12 points, a career-high 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
“You don’t have a triple-double without your teammates,” Williams said, per the Chicago Sun-Times. “That was a big thing, them trusting me to play-make and knock down shots.”
The Sky shot a robust 56.9 percent from the floor (37 of 65) and 46.7 percent from 3-point range (7 of 15) on Friday. All five starters scored in double figures for the first time this season.
–Field Level Media
