Chicago’s Courtney Vandersloot had nine of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Sky beat the Sun Sunday in Chicago, 94-91.
Facing the defending WNBA champion Chicago Sky, the Connecticut Sun battled from a 17-point first quarter deficit to eventually take a six-point lead in the fourth quarter Sunday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Yet, the Sky once again found a way to get past the Sun for the sixth straight time. Guard Courtney Vandersloot had a game-high 20 points, including three crucial three-point shots in the fourth quarter as Chicago beat the Sun, 94-91.
Emma Messeeman hit a wide-open three-point shot with 28 seconds left in regulation that snapped the tenth tie of the game and gave Chicago the lead for good.
Chicago (25-8) set a new team record for most regular season wins in team history.
The Sky had five players in double figures led by Vandersloot. Candace Parker had 18 points and a team-high 12 rebounds and four assists while Meesserman and Allie Quigley each 15 points. Kahleah Cooper had 11 points.
The Sun (22-11) also had five players in double figures, led by DeWanna Bonner with 18 points and six assists. Jonquel Jones had 17 points and a team-high 10 rebounds while Alyssa Thomas had 16 points and eight rebounds. Odyssey Sims, in just her second game in a Sun uniform, had 13 points, four assists and a steal.
In the last seven games between the two teams, the Sky have a double OT win in last September’s WNBA semifinals and an overtime win a week ago at the Mohegan Sun Arena. In June, the Sun had the ball with three seconds left and a chance to tie the game but the ball was stolen in a three-point defeat.
“I don’t know if we have their number,” Chicago coach James Wade said. “(Connecticut) makes you play hard. They challenge you. We’re competitors and we like to compete. We’re always on our A game because we know how good this (Sun) team is, how special they have been the last six years.”
Added Parker, “We do know the margin of error (against Connecticut) is small. It is a possession that has separated most games we’ve played.”
A 10-0 run capped off by Sims driving to the basket for two points gave the Sun a 75-69 lead with 7:33 remaining in the game.
One of the big plays in the surge was a great hustle play by Thomas. She drove to the basket on a fast break opportunity but saw her shot attempt blocked as she tumbled to the floor beyond the baseline. The Sky quickly turned to run upcourt with Thomas far behind. She raced up court and, from behind, tapped the ball away from Vandersloot to Sims, who stole it, sparking another Sun opportunity.
“It was a playoff time of game,” Wade said.
Trailing by six, Vandersloot took over. She drained a three-pointer with 7:17 remaining to cut the lead to three. On Chicago’s next possession, Vandersloot sank another three-pointer to tie the game at 75-75.
With the game tied at 79-79, Vandersloot barely rippled the cord with another three-point shot that fell through the net for a three-point lead and nine points in the fourth quarter.
“It’s always good to have the ball in her hand because she will make something good happen,” Wade said. “She has come up clutch in huge moments over her career. It wasn’t a surprise.”
Kahleah Cooper hit an open three-point shot from the corner to give the Sky a six-point lead, 89-83 with 1:26 remaining.
“A lot of our plays in the fourth quarter were just off that extra pass,” Wade said. “We were able to get wide open shots and knock them down. But that’s because we have been willing passers. We get into the lane, make a pass and make an extra pass.”
Chicago, which leads the league in assists, had 27 assists on 39 baskets.
Connecticut didn’t falter. Bonner hit a long three-point shot from past the top of the circle and was fouled in the process. She drained the free throw for a four-point play with 1:14 remaining. With 43.6 seconds left, Thomas drove to the basket and banked the shot off the glass t tie the game at 89-89.
Trailing by three with 28 seconds left, Bonner missed a three-point shot with 14 seconds left but Thomas pulled in the rebound. This time, Bonner drove to the basket with 7.7 seconds left to cut the lead to one, 92-91. Quigley hit a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds left to give the Sky a 94-91 lead.
Connecticut was led by assistant Chris Koclanes with head coach and general manager Curt Miller at home in Pennsylvania for the funeral of his mother, who passed away earlier in the week.
Connecticut trailed by 17 points in the second quarter but got back into the game with strong rebounding and three-point shooting from DiJonai Harrington, Sims and Williams in the second quarter. The Sun closed out the first half with an 11-2 run to turn a 13-point deficit into a four-point deficit.
Strong rebounding and tough play in the lane enabled Connecticut to tie the game midway through the third quarter and take their first lead when Thomas drove through two defenders to get to the basket.
The Sun have three games remaining. They travel to Los Angeles to face the Sparks on Tuesday and Thursday night at 10:30 p.m. (EST) on both nights before closing out the regular season against Minnesota on Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Sun need to win one of their three remaining games to clinch the No. 3 seed and home court advantage in the first round of the WNBA playoffs that begin on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
Connecticut (22-11) is currently the No. 3 seed with Seattle (20-13) at No. 4 and Washington (20-14) at No. 5. The best that the Mystics can do is 22 wins. Seattle and the Sun could finish with 23 wins each but the Sun own the tiebreaker with the Storm after sweeping all three games this season.
