Kamilla Cardoso recorded 22 points and 14 rebounds and Skylar Diggins had 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in her team debut as the Chicago Sky notched a 98-83 road victory on Saturday night to spoil the opener for the expansion Portland Fire.
Rickea Jackson added 19 points and seven rebounds and Jacy Sheldon scored 13 points for the Sky, who revamped their roster after tying for the league low of 10 victories last season. The 35-year-old Diggins, signed as a free agent, made 8 of 12 shots, including two 3-pointers.
First-round draft pick Gabriela Jaquez and Elizabeth Williams added 10 points apiece for the Sky.
Carla Leite scored 18 points and Bridget Carlson and reserve Sarah Ashlee Barker added 13 points apiece for Portland. Megan Gustafson had 10 points off the bench.
Chicago shot 47.8% from the field and made 6 of 17 from 3-point range. The Sky held a 46-24 rebounding advantage.
The Fire made 40.8% of their attempts, including 9 of 29 from behind the arc. Portland collected just three offensive boards.
After a 17-point first-half lead got away, Chicago went on a 15-4 dash in the final quarter. Diggins capped it with a 3-pointer to give the Sky an 85-74 lead with 4:47 remaining.
Cardoso’s layup gave the Sky a 92-76 lead with 2:09 left to essentially finish off the Fire.
Portland trailed by 13 at halftime before outscoring the Sky 30-18 in the third quarter.
The Fire got back quickly in the third quarter as Carleton drilled two treys to end an 11-0 run that cut Chicago’s lead to 52-49.
Chicago later received five straight points from Jaquez to hold a 68-58 advantage with 2:41 remaining in the quarter.
But Portland scored the final nine points of the period, capped by Barker’s basket, to move within 68-67 with 29.9 seconds left.
Carleton buried a trey to tie it at 70 with 8:39 left in the contest.
Diggins and Jackson scored 12 points apiece in the first half as Chicago led 50-37 at the break. Barker had 11 in the half for the Fire.
The Sky made just 6 of 18 shots in the first quarter and still led 19-18. But Chicago shot 75% (12 of 16) in the second quarter and took its biggest lead at 49-32 on two free throws by Jaquez with 59.7 seconds left in the half.
–Field Level Media
