The Chicago Sky fell to the Indiana Fever 70-71 in the first Commissioner’s Cup game of the season on Saturday, June 1 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Sky are now 3-4 on the season, 1-2 against the Eastern Conference, 2-2 on the road and 28-39 against the Fever all time.
Sky rookie center and No. 3 overall pick Kamilla Cardoso made her WNBA regular season and Chicago Sky debut. She finished with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. Chennedy Carter had her sixth straight game scoring in double figures after recording a season-high 19 points off the bench, leading the Sky in scoring.
Angel Reese had a career day for the Sky, pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds along with an all-time Sky rookie-high eight offensive rebounds. She also recorded eight points. Marina Mabrey posted 15 points and tied her career high of nine rebounds while Dana Evans recorded 12 points, four rebounds and four assists to round out the Sky’s double-digit scorers.
Candace Parker has been appointed as the President of Adidas Women’s Basketball
Chicago out-scored Indiana 33-5 in bench points.
Reese’s eight offensive rebounds in Saturday’s game moved her to seven straight games with three or more offensive rebounds to open a career. She ranks second all time for such game (Yolanda Griffith ranks first with 17 such games).
The Sky pulled down a season-high 43 rebounds.
The Fever were led in scoring by Kelsey Mitchell, who dropped a season-high 18 points. NaLyssa Smith recorded 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals while making 58.3% (7 of 12) of her shots from the field. 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark recorded 11 points on 36.4% (4 of 11) shooting after averaging 17.6 points per game through her first nine games this season. She also registered eight rebounds and six assists.
Clark became the third player in WNBA history to record 150 points, 50 rebounds and 50 assists within her team’s first 10 games of a season, joining Penny Taylor (Phoenix, 2011) and Lindsay Whalen (Connecticut, 2008) (ESPN).
Aliyah Boston tied her career high for blocks in a game with four for the Fever.
The Sky return to Wintrust Arena for a second matchup against the New York Liberty this season. The matchup will be Chicago’s second Commissioner’s Cup game after falling to Indiana on Saturday.
In the first matchup between the two teams, Chicago defeated New York 90-81 on the road. In that game, Marina Mabrey led the Sky in scoring with 21 points to go along with a team-high seven assists and six boards. The Sky had five players score in double figures, alongside Mabrey. Angel Reese recorded 13 points and nine rebounds, Chennedy Carter posted 12 points off the bench and Dana Evans scored 12. Michaela Onyenwere made the first start of the season and of her Sky career and recorded 13 points.
The Liberty had three players go for over 10 points and five assists. Former Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot scored 10 points to go along with seven assists while Sabrina Ionescu led the team in scoring with 19 and had six assists. Breanna Stewart notched 18 points, five assists and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Chicago is 35-32 against the Liberty all time and is 1-0 against them this season. The game between the Sky and the Liberty tips off at 7 p.m. CST and will be broadcast nationally on NBA TV. The game will be available locally on WMEU-TV and the Marquee Sports Network App.
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Chicago Sky media relations contributed to this recap