The Chicago Sky looked to redeem themselves from their double-digit loss to the Toronto Tempo last Sunday as they not only faced the Atlanta Dream, but also welcomed back Angel Reese in her first regular-season home game.
It was a tough back-and-forth battle featuring points in bunches and multiple changes in momentum. Yet, it ended in a 82-75 loss for the home team.
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The Sky shot the ball well at 46 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from the 3-point line; the Dream were cold from deep at 19.2 percent. Additionally, Chicago steamrolled Atlanta in bench points, 28-4.
However, the Dream mustered through by going on an 11-5 clutch run and hitting some big shots down the stretch to secure homecoming win for Reese.
Angel achieved a double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds. Rhyne Howard also added 17 points and eclipsed the 2,500-point mark. Naz Hillmon had 16 points. Jordin Canada and Allisha Gray each had 14 points.
Natasha Cloud led the way for the Sky with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Given that she waited throughout the offseason to see whether she would be picked up by a team, Cloud remains adamant, whether win or lose, that she has nothing to prove to anyone.
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Asked about her approach after the game, here’s what Cloud said:
I don’t have s*** to prove to nobody. I’m 11 years in this league, I got a championship, I’m All-defensive, like, I don’t have nothing to prove, but I will say it lit a fire under my ass. I don’t have anything to prove to anybody, like, truly, not even in this room, but I have a lot of s*** still to prove to myself. I have a lot of shit that I want to get done for my family, and so that’s what motivates me.
Skylar Diggins added 17 points, three rebounds and three assists. She was also 4-for-6 from the 3-point line. Kamilla Cardoso finished with 13 points, five assists and two rebounds. In the process, she joined the 1,000-point club.
Cardoso maintained that the Sky played well together despite the loss, with an understanding that they know what it takes to win, sharing:
I think this game was great for us, just because now we know we can do it. We know we can play hard, and we just gotta be able to put that together for 40 minutes. I think we played hard for, what, 35 minutes of the game? But that five minutes that we had ups and downs, and we just gotta be able to play hard and push through the whole 40 minutes.
