Chicago City Wire

The Chicago Sky are set to conclude their four-game road trip with a matchup against the Washington Mystics on Wednesday, July 8, at EagleBank Arena. The game is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET. After a challenging game against the Minnesota Lynx, the Sky aim to finish their trip positively against the formidable Mystics.

In their previous encounter on June 17, the Mystics overcame a halftime deficit of 44–32 in Chicago. A strong third quarter saw Washington execute a 20–4 run, ultimately outscoring Chicago 47–28 in the second half. Brittney Sykes was instrumental in this victory, achieving a season-high of 32 points while shooting efficiently from both field and three-point range.

Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso contributed double-doubles during that game. Reese scored 17 points and secured 10 rebounds, whereas Cardoso added another 18 points and 10 rebounds. Although Cardoso is currently absent due to overseas commitments, the Sky plan to exploit Washington's interior defense with Reese and Elizabeth Williams combining for significant contributions against Minnesota.

To secure a win, Chicago must improve ball control and enhance perimeter defense against Washington's potent offense led by All-Star rookies Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron alongside scoring leader Sykes. Effective perimeter shooting and transition defense will be crucial as the Mystics excel in capitalizing on opponents' errors.

The Sky previously suffered from self-inflicted mistakes when they turned over the ball 22 times in their last meeting with Washington, resulting in the Mystics scoring 40 points off those turnovers—the highest by any opponent this season. Recently, Chicago has shown improvement in managing turnovers which could play a pivotal role in this rematch.

Historically trailing with an all-time series record of 34-38 against Washington, Chicago aims to balance last season's results where they went 1-3.