Chicago City Wire

The Chicago Sky closed out July with hopes of returning to winning form, but the team identified several positive developments as they head into August’s four-game home stretch.

One ongoing area for improvement is turnovers. The Sky currently average 17.4 turnovers per game, the highest in the league. Despite this challenge, the team has managed to secure victories against opponents like Minnesota and Dallas. Efforts to reduce turnovers are expected to be a focus moving forward.

In July, the Sky played Minnesota four times within two weeks and achieved a notable home win over the Lynx on July 12. That victory was marked by strong performances from Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, both recording double-doubles. Ariel Atkins led scoring with 27 points on 57.1% shooting, while Rachel Banham contributed 12 points and five assists, including three three-pointers at a rate of 42.9%. The win served as a confidence boost for Chicago.

The frontcourt duo of Reese and Cardoso combined for 11 double-doubles during July. Cardoso averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds per game for the month, highlighted by a career-high 15 rebounds against Minnesota and a season-high four assists versus Dallas. Reese had double-doubles in all seven games she played in July, extending her streak to 12 consecutive games—making her the first WNBA player with multiple double-double streaks of ten or more games. She averaged nearly 18 points, over 12 rebounds, and just above three assists per game while shooting nearly 54% from the field.

Rachel Banham saw increased offensive production in July, averaging over twice as many points as she did earlier in the season—14.3 compared to her previous average of 6.3—and shooting over 43% from beyond the arc and almost 46% overall from the field. Her month included a season-high performance with 26 points and five assists against Indiana at United Center.

Defensively, Chicago limited opponents’ three-point shooting last month to just under 34%, their best mark this season so far. This included holding Minnesota below its average from long range multiple times.

The roster also saw changes due to injuries; Sevgi Uzun was signed for the remainder of the season after playing last year with Dallas where she started in nearly half of their games. Uzun is expected to add depth at guard and provide flexibility in rotations.

"###