The Chicago Sky came out, guns drawn against the Washington Mystics on Friday night. This could have been due to any number of things. Perhaps it was the closing window on the team’s playoff chances. “We know we have to win all of these games," said Erin Thorn. “I think everybody has that in mind.”
Maybe it was the change to the starting line-up, as head coach Pokey Chatman started Thorn and Dominique Canty in place of All-Stars Epiphanny Prince and Courtney Vandersloot. “I think it alleviates pressure, said Chatman. With Sloot and with Piph, I think their intentions are good, they’ve just struggled a little bit. It (coming off the bench) gives them a little time to exhale.”
Maybe, frustration with the controversial ending to the Atlanta game on Tuesday night gave the team a little extra motivation as well. “It’s a combination of a whole lot of things, said Sylvia Fowles. We’re just trying to lock in and just play. And make sure that what happened with Atlanta doesn’t happen again. That we don’t give them (teams) that opportunity."
Whatever the reason, Chicago was locked and loaded shooting 60% in the first quarter. And to the credit of Prince and Vandersloot, they entered the game with a sense of urgency as well when called upon. As a matter of fact, Prince led the Sky with 10 points contributing to a 45-38 advantage at the half. But, coach Chatman makes it clear that bringing her off the bench was not a ploy.
“I think it gave her (Prince) a chance to relax and see the game, and then go out there and do things. And it could have been (motivation), I would think so. She’s a competitive player. But it wasn’t a tactic. Wasn’t to “shake it up”. It’s just what was necessary and needed at that point.”
The show went on in the second half. The Sky continued to stroke it, and ended the game shooting 61% from three, and 48% overall as they went up by 18 at one point in the fourth en route to a 80-67 victory. Prince led the team with 18. While Fowles finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds despite going scoreless in the first half due to foul trouble.
Time will tell what the future holds for the Sky as the regular season winds down, but on this night, they broke the Mystics off “proper-like.”
Comments