Chicago City Wire

Chicago's basketball team, the Sky, is set to continue their road trip with a game against Los Angeles on Sunday, June 29 at 3 p.m. CT. This matchup marks the second meeting between the teams in a week and their third encounter this season. Previously, Chicago secured a victory over Los Angeles with a score of 97-86.

In that game, the Sky overcame a 14-point deficit, ultimately achieving victory thanks to a strong fourth quarter performance led by Kamilla Cardoso who scored 14 points during that period.

The Sparks were led by Azurá Stevens with 21 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. Kelsey Plum contributed 20 points and five assists while Dearica Hamby added 15 points along with seven rebounds and four assists.

Chicago's defense played a crucial role by limiting Plum to her season average in points. Plum is recognized as one of the league's most dynamic players and previously had an impressive performance scoring 37 points against Golden State in May.

In their first matchup against Chicago, Plum scored 28 points including six three-pointers. However, in Tuesday’s game against Chicago, she was held to zero successful three-point attempts out of six tries.

Additionally, Chicago forced Los Angeles into committing 18 turnovers while only turning over the ball themselves 11 times.

The upcoming match is expected to feature another intense rebounding battle between top rebounders Angel Reese from Chicago and Stevens from Los Angeles. In their last meeting, Reese excelled with 17 rebounds alongside her contributions of 18 points and four assists.

However, Chicago will be without Cardoso for this upcoming game; she previously led the team with significant contributions including scoring high numbers in their last win over Los Angeles.

Ariel Atkins also made notable contributions scoring 13 points and providing five assists in Tuesday’s game against the Sparks. Atkins recently performed well in another game versus Golden State where she scored twenty points accompanied by five assists.

An aspect to watch for regarding Chicago’s strategy involves shifting focus from paint plays towards more three-point attempts due to Cardoso’s absence. This adjustment was evident during their recent loss to Valkyries where they attempted more shots from beyond the arc than usual resulting effectively despite losing narrowly.

During that game against Valkyries Kia Nurse emerged off bench hitting five three-pointers totaling seventeen points while Rachel Banham added eleven via three triples contributing overall shooting percentage above average for team efforts beyond perimeter shots compared earlier lower frequency reliance when both Reese & Cardoso were actively playing down low inside court spaces against opposing teams like previous encounter faced vs Sparks itself