The Chicago Sky will be without promising newcomer Rickea Jackson for Wednesday’s home opener against the Dallas Wings and for the rest of the 2026 season.
Chicago announced Tuesday that Jackson, a forward acquired from Los Angeles during the offseason, tore her left ACL during Sunday’s road victory against Minnesota, putting a damper on the surging Sky’s return to Wintrust Arena.
Jackson was averaging a team-best 18 points before sustaining a non-contact injury in the first half of an eventual 86-79 win at Minnesota.
“We’re devastated that Rickea suffered this injury, but we are confident she will make a full recovery,” general manager Jeff Pagliocca said in a statement. “Rickea was playing at an All-Star and All-Defensive level early in the season. We are certain she was primed for a career year.”
Chicago (3-1) will turn to the rest of a jelling core as it tries to maintain a strong start. Rookie Gabriela Jaquez scored a career-best 20 points at Minnesota to lead five players, including four starters, in double figures.
Kamilla Cardoso notched her second double-double of the season, contributing 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Dallas (2-2) also is coming off a victory that included a breakthrough performance from a recent WNBA lottery pick.
Azzi Fudd, the top overall selection in the April draft, had an early season-high 12 points off the bench during Monday’s 92-69 rout of the visiting Washington Mystics.
While Paige Bueckers paced the attack with 18 points and Arike Ogunbowale (16 points) and Jessica Shepard (12 points, 16 rebounds) also starred, the Wings are encouraged by Fudd’s early growth.
Fudd credits her teammates’ influence for that.
“My goal was to be aggressive when I got in the game,” she said. “Contribute any way I could, watch what the starters were doing. They started the game off pushing the pace, being aggressive, getting stops, so I wanted to continue that.”
Dallas also showed that mindset through its ball control, collecting a season-high 30 assists and committing only eight turnovers.
Both teams have done a good job keeping turnovers in checking through four games. They are tied for second in the league with 10.5 miscues per game, trailing only Golden State at 9.7 per contest.
The Sky swept the three-game season series in 2025 and have won six straight against the Wings.
–Field Level Media
