PORTLAND — For the first time in a long time, the Chicago Sky showed some fight Saturday night.
It was necessary to escape from the inaugural game of the Portland Fire’s return to the WNBA with a 98-83 win in the season opener at the Moda Center.
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The Fire were bolstered by a crowd of almost 20,000 eager to welcome the WNBA back to Portland for the first time in 24 years. Guard Skylar Diggins said she couldn’t hear a whistle over the noise of the crowd in the first half, a galvanizing factor for a Fire team rallied by starter Carla Leite and bench catalyst Sarah Ashlee Barker.
The Sky racked up a 13-point lead at the half, only to watch it evaporate as the Fire piled up 30 points in the third quarter and tied it early in the fourth.
“The ‘nobody watches women’s sports’ crowd is just continuing to get proven wrong,” Diggins said after the game. “We (didn’t let) the moment be too big for us. I was really proud of our response. That atmosphere was electric.”
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But on Saturday, the Sky showed an ability to fight off a comeback — a critical shift for a team that won only 10 games last season. Late contributions from Diggins and Elizabeth Williams provided a calm closing act, with the Sky outscoring the hosts 30-16 in the fourth quarter.
Here are six takeaways from the win.
1. A crucial connection
Saturday’s win highlighted the most important piece of chemistry on the Sky roster — the pick-and-roll combination between Diggins and starting center Kamilla Cardoso.
The pair picked apart the Fire defense with a series of effective rolls and slips. Diggins provided the type of over-the-top service that Cardoso sought for most of her WNBA career, setting the young center up for 22 points on 15 shots.
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Cardoso still struggled at times to utilize her physicality effectively, especially as the WNBA adjusts to new referee guidelines for the season. The center picked up two early fouls, which caused coach Tyler Marsh to sit her for the majority of the second quarter. And the Sky relied on Williams down the stretch in the fourth quarter, leaning on the veteran center to provide a much-needed flurry of fourth-quarter baskets in Cardoso’s stead. Williams finished with 10 points.
Still, the early rewards of the Cardoso-Diggins pairing showcased the blueprint for the team’s future offensive plans — and a combined 43 points proved their potential effectiveness.
2. Winning the margins
Although the Sky’s win was anchored by double-doubles from Cardoso (22 points and 14 rebounds) and Diggins (21 and 11), the game ultimately was won by their ability to maximize advantages at the rim. The Sky scored 48 points in the paint. They also earned 34 free throws to generate 26 points, including a team-high eight from Rickea Jackson, who scored 19.
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The Fire did not have an offensive rebound until deep in the third quarter and finished with only three, a testament to the Sky’s ability to control rebounds and eliminate second-chance opportunities.
3. Finding a spark
The Sky struggled to maintain effective secondary playmaking with their slate of available players. The Fire implemented a full-court press that pushed backup ballhandlers such as Jacy Sheldon into traps, forcing multiple 10-second violations as they shaved a double-digit Sky lead to one at the end of the third quarter.
These passing weaknesses were a key reason the Sky added point guard Natasha Cloud as a free agent in the final days of the preseason. Although Cloud was not available Saturday as she works back into game fitness, the guard will quell some of these concerns upon her arrival to the rotation. And Saturday still marked an improvement — the Sky averaged a league-worst 16.9 turnovers per game last season and committed only nine in Portland.
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4. Rookie start
No. 5 pick Gabriela Jaquez played 32 minutes in her WNBA debut, a decision that reflected the Sky’s immediate confidence in their young wing to provide a steadying force to the lineup.
“Yeah, her coach is insane,” Marsh said jokingly after the game.
While Jaquez did not provide the eye-popping scoring of some of her teammates, the wing brought a cool effectiveness to the defensive side of the ball while tallying a pair of assists and a handful of deflections. The rookie finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
5. Nothing from deep
Three-point production has often been a sore spot for the Sky — and that trend continued Saturday as they took only 17 shots from behind the 3-point arc.
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It didn’t help that the Sky started cold, shooting 1-for-9 from deep in the first quarter despite generating a decent arrangement of shots. Their 3-point shooting quickly tapered off for the remainder of the game. Diggins (2-for-3) was the only Sky player to finish with more than one. Rachel Banham — the team’s leading 3-point specialist — played only 15 minutes and took only three shots from behind the arc.
6. Missing players
The Sky started the season without several key players: Cloud (illness, returning to play), DiJonai Carrington (left foot), Azurá Stevens (knee) and Courtney Vandersloot (ACL). Cloud and Stevens are expected to become available this month — and potentially on this trip — but Carrington is still recovering from a significant injury suffered during last season’s playoffs.
As a result of the absences, the Sky activated development player Aicha Coulibaly for the game. The guard can play up to 12 regular-season games this season while on a development contract. Coulibaly played four minutes.
