After a blockbuster matchup on Sunday that did not feature either team’s headliner, the Chicago Sky hit the road to face the Washington Mystics Tuesday night in a game where both sides might need to rely on rookies to help stop their slides.
When the Sky suffered a 93-78 loss to the Indiana Fever in a matchup moved to the United Center, neither Indiana’s Caitlin Clark nor Chicago’s Angel Reese suited up. Reese, who leads the WNBA with 12.5 rebounds per game, missed her second game in a row with a back injury.
Moreover, the Sky (7-18) played without leading scorer Ariel Atkins (13.9 ppg) for the fourth straight game due to a leg injury. There is no official word whether Reese or Atkins will be able to face the Mystics. If not, a rookie will continue to help fill their minutes.
Former Notre Dame forward Maddy Westbeld has averaged 4.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 21.4 minutes over the last four games — all dramatic increases over her previous contributions. While Westbeld is not replacing Reese and Atkins’ production, the forward is giving Chicago important minutes.
“She works so hard,” said Sky veteran guard Rachel Banham, who paced Chicago with a season-high 26 points on Sunday. “She’s so coachable. We love playing with her. You can talk to her the entire game, get on her. She’s just really great about it.”
Chicago faces a Washington Mystics (12-13) squad that has been relying on All-Star rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen to stay in the WNBA playoff hunt. However, the Mystics are on a skid of late. They have lost three of their last four, including Sunday’s home game against the Phoenix Mercury.
Washington had a four-point lead heading into halftime, but struggled on both sides of the court in the second half as the Mercury outscored the Mystics 46-26 in the final 20 minutes of an 88-72 defeat.
All-Star Brittney Sykes struggled in the defeat with no points on 0-for-6 shooting from the floor. The guard also left the bench for a short period of time, leading to questions about her health.
“Slim (Sykes) could have something that I don’t know about right now,” said head coach Sydney Johnson. “But no, the medical didn’t tell me anything in terms of her getting injured during the game.”
The Mystics have two wins over the Sky this season, both in close matchups. When the two sides met on July 8, Washington defeated Chicago 81-79 on Shakira Austin’s game-winning free throws with 2.8 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
