Chicago City Wire

The Chicago Sky will face the Phoenix Mercury for their final matchup of the season on Thursday, August 28, at 9 p.m. CT in Phoenix. The Sky are seeking their first win against the Mercury this year, having lost all previous meetings, including an 83-67 defeat earlier this month.

Phoenix enters the game with a two-game winning streak, while Chicago is looking to recover after its last victory over New York. The Mercury’s roster features experienced players such as Satou Sabally, Kahleah Copper, DeWanna Bonner, and MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas. Sabally missed the previous contest against Chicago but is expected to play and currently leads Phoenix in scoring with averages of 16.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Kahleah Copper, who was part of Chicago’s first WNBA Championship team in 2021 and earned Finals MVP honors that year, scored 25 points in her last outing against her former team. Since joining Phoenix in July, Bonner has averaged 11.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game but was limited by Chicago’s defense to six points and three rebounds in their most recent meeting.

Alyssa Thomas has been productive throughout her eleventh season, recording a triple-double—10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists—in Phoenix’s last win over Chicago. She leads the league with an average of 9.3 assists per game.

Chicago expects Angel Reese to defend Thomas inside; Reese did not play in the teams’ last meeting due to injury but recently held A’ja Wilson below her usual numbers when facing Las Vegas.

During their previous encounter, Phoenix out-rebounded and outscored Chicago in the paint—an unusual result given that interior play is one of Chicago’s strengths. With Reese returning from injury for this game, the Sky hope to be more effective near the basket.

Kamilla Cardoso and Elizabeth Williams each posted double-doubles despite the loss: Cardoso had 12 points with ten rebounds and three blocks; Williams led with fifteen points and fifteen rebounds. Michaela Onyenwere contributed thirteen points while shooting efficiently from beyond the arc.

Since returning from injury, both Reese and Cardoso have continued strong performances; Cardoso logged her eleventh double-double last game and has averaged over seventeen points and nine rebounds across four games. Reese is on a three-game double-double streak—her twentieth this season—and averaged more than fifteen points along with eleven rebounds during August.

Chicago plans to utilize Reese and Cardoso early offensively to establish presence inside—a strategy that can help create opportunities for perimeter shooters like Rachel Banham, Kia Nurse, and Onyenwere. While neither team excelled from long range in their last matchup, both have similar three-point shooting percentages this season: Chicago at just under thirty-three percent compared to Phoenix’s thirty-four percent.

The Sky were without second-leading scorer Ariel Atkins during their most recent loss to Phoenix; Atkins is coming off a career-best performance with thirty points and seven assists while ranking fourth league-wide in steals at nearly two per game.

Phoenix remains focused on securing a playoff spot as they sit fourth overall in league standings and third within their conference.

Chicago’s ability to execute late-game strategies may be critical; recent games between these teams have not been close but four of Chicago's latest contests were decided by ten or fewer points. The team showed it could win tight games with its recent victory over New York yet went one-for-three otherwise during that stretch.

"What to watch for the Sky: Fourth quarter execution

Chicago struggled to keep its games against Phoenix this season competitive. Despite the team showing it can come back from large deficits, the Sky have improved on keeping games close as of late. Their last four games have been decided by 10 points or less.

The Sky have proven with the win against the Liberty that they can get a win in close games, but of their last four they have also gone 1-3. Watch for two things to happen if the game is close in the final quarter: Chicago to play lock-down defense, and protect the ball while staying in rhythm offensively."