Sky's Loss to Aces: Studs and Duds

The Chicago Sky lost to the Las Vegas Aces for the second time in a row on Tuesday, this time by a score of 92-61. Six Aces scored in double digits as they easily won all three games in the regular season. Kamilla Cardoso and Michaela Onyenwere both scored 13 points. Onyenwere scored double digits in her third game in a row by driving against Las Vegas's interior defense without fear. The Sky were still limited to 26 points in the paint, considerably below their season average and an unexpected source of worry after showing some consistency from the interior in an otherwise faltering season.

Kamilla Cardoso is the stud.

Cardoso, who had been a bright spot for the Sky amid a rough patch, recorded her 13th double-double of the season. She was still able to control the boards with her usual rebounds. She was named the Sky's Player of the Game after getting three assists and two blocks. Even after two bad shooting nights, the former top-3 choice has been on a run lately. This is a much-needed ray of hope in what has been a very rough finale to the Sky's most recent campaign.

Dud: The Sky without stars

The Sky need their young skipper more than they want to acknowledge, and Tuesday's setback showed that more than ever.

Without Angel Reese, Chicago lost again, making their record 1-12. Their only win came against the Washington Mystics more than a month ago. The Sky scored just under 66 points per game in those 13 games, and in one loss to the Atlanta Dream in July, they only scored 49 points. When Reese came back in August, Chicago looked like a whole new team. This shows how much she can help a Sky team that needs a real leader.

The Windy City team lost again on Tuesday, making only approximately 33% of their shots from the floor and turning the ball over as many times as they assisted. Rachel Banham, the Sky's main guard this season, was 0-7 from the field and the arc as the team tried to rely on the 32-year-old's shooting off screens. Rebecca Allen, Kia Nurse, and Maddy Westbeld made seven of 23 shots, which shows how hard it was for them to hit the target even when they had room to shoot.

On Thursday, Chicago will play the New York Liberty, who have won five and lost five of their past ten games, in its penultimate regular-season game of the year. The Sky will have its poorest winning percentage since 2006, no matter what happens in their game against the defending champions. This means they will keep falling down after going 13-27 the season before. Reese will be the key to Chicago's success, and he will be needed with Cardoso long after the completion of the 2025 regular season.