After yet another close loss featuring another potential controversy, the Chicago Sky have 12 games left to pull it together and prove they have a playoff run in them.
The Sky open a week on the West Coast when they visit the last-place Seattle Storm on Monday. The Sky will visit the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday before concluding their three-game trek back in Seattle the following Sunday.
Chicago (12-20) is seven games out of the eighth and final playoff spot, with two teams in between the Sky and New York Liberty. But the Sky are playing their best basketball following a 4-12 start. They’ve won five of nine, and each of the four losses in that stretch was by five points or fewer.
Saturday brought the latest disappointment. The Sky trailed by as many as 17 but made a late charge before falling 90-86 to the visiting Indiana Fever. Natasha Cloud and Rachel Banham had 17 points apiece for Chicago, marking a season high for Banham.
The game was marred by multiple technical and flagrant fouls. Chicago’s DiJonai Carrington delivered a hard foul across the face and neck of Sophie Cunningham, deemed “unnecessary and excessive” by the refs as they upgraded the flagrant-1 to a flagrant-2 and automatic ejection.
Moments later, with the game in progress, Carrington posted to Threads from the locker room: “WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever.” Sky coach Tyler Marsh declined to comment on Carrington’s post, but said, “We’ll handle that.”
“In the moment, I thought that she made a play on the ball. I didn’t think it warranted a flagrant-2,” Marsh said of the foul call.
Carrington, a six-year veteran who’s only played in five games after recovering from a foot sprain, averages 9.8 points per game. Undrafted rookie Sydney Taylor leads the Sky at 14.7 ppg but has missed two games with a groin injury.
The Storm (6-28) are the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention. When they fell 100-93 at the expansion Portland Fire on Saturday, it marked their second 11-game losing streak of the season.
“I’m expecting us to turn a corner soon,” first-year Storm coach Sonia Raman said, per the Seattle Times. “We continue to show these glimpses of it, and the team that we are in moments and it’s really exceptional.”
Jade Melbourne scored 23 to lead Seattle against Portland and Dominique Malonga put up 21 points and nine rebounds. The Storm are taking the long view, building around All-Star Malonga (17.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg) and rookies Flau’jae Johnson (13.7 ppg) and Awa Fam (10.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg).
–Field Level Media
