Chicago Sky and WNBA
Chicago Sky news, scores and features, as well as coverage of the WNBA and women’s college basketball.
This offseason, Copper’s fire is being fueled by her omission from both All-WNBA teams and amplified by a new coach who mirrors her energy.
Pagliocca was promoted from director of skill development to GM.
Their likely playoff exit isn’t an ending but the beginning of what’s about to come.
Marina Mabrey is signed to a three-year deal, one of James Wade’s final moves as general manager before departing for the NBA. Courtney Williams will be an unrestricted free agent in the new year, as will Alanna Smith.
Kahleah Copper finished with 15 points, Courtney Williams added nine points and 11 rebounds and Marina Mabrey was held to just seven points, shooting 3-for-11 from the field.
The Aces will look to complete the sweep at 2 p.m. Sunday.
“There are things to be set in place,” Copper said. “For me, a lot of things were up in the air and I understand y’all are figuring it out, but let’s just shake on the fact that you told me this is going to happen, this is going to happen and this is going to happen.”
Game 1 in the best-of-three first-round series between the No. 1 Aces and No. 8 Sky tips off at 9 p.m. Wednesday. This Sky team will be lucky to force a Game 3.
Home-court advantage goes to the Aces for the first two games of the series before flipping to the Sky if they can force a Game 3.
Terms of the extension include the veteran supermax, $241,984 in Year 1, according to Copper’s agent, Zack Miller, and $248,134 in Year 2.
The Sky’s prize for clinching the eighth seed is a matchup against the Aces or the Liberty, the teams that picked apart the Sky’s championship roster in free agency.
Kahleah Copper finished with a team-high 20 points as the Sky sealed the No. 8 seed in the WNBA playoffs. They’ll face the top-seeded Aces in the first round.
“I need to know the foundation and what’s to come,” Copper said. “There’s a lot of things that are not in order right now that I need in order before I sign an extension or re-sign.”
Lottery rules and the Sky’s odds of sending the No. 1 pick to the Wings if they fail to make the playoffs.
This offseason will prove even more significant than last year as ownership and management are tasked with naming the next coach and general manager, who, whether in a dual role or separate, will face completing a rebuild they didn’t start.
The Sky shot 49.4% from the field and 43.8% from three-point range en route to a 96-69 rout in Indianapolis.
“She wasn’t on a roster last year,” Sky guard Courtney Williams said of Smith. “Now she’s a starter and she’s giving us quality minutes.”
“We couldn’t execute this game,” Interim coach/general manager Emre Vatansever said. “They really turned it up and we just couldn’t respond to it. We should have, but we couldn’t.”
The Sky forward’s offense has caught up to her defense.
“You gotta be scrappy,” Dana Evans said. “You have to have something to you, and I think that’s what makes the group special.”
Under interim coach/general manager Emre Vatansever, the Sky have gone 8-12 with two losing streaks of four games or more.
Her late-game heroics have Sky in contention for final berth
Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum each scored 26 points and defending champion Las Vegas pulled away from New York in the second half.
The Illini have gone so far in the wrong direction, it’s fair to ask if the program is in any better condition midway through Bret Bielema’s third season than it was on Lovie Smith’s last day.
But don’t blame the WNBA, don’t blame the players, don’t blame the players for being women. Blame us, blame society, blame sports and the people who are in charge of making sure sports have become essential to our life’s existence.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the expansion team will begin play in the San Francisco Bay Area for the 2025 season.
The NBA’s Golden State Warriors will own the new franchise.
The Aces and Liberty split four regular-season meetings this season and none was close. The average margin of victory was over 19 points, with the closest contest being only nine.
Weatherspoon, a former assistant with the NBA’s Pelicans, has been in talks with the Sky since at least August.
Of the Sky’s eight players competing overseas this year, four are playing in Turkey, two will be competing in Italy and two more in Spain. Kahleah Copper is undecided on competing overseas.
According to multiple sources, the Sky have spoken with Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon regarding the coaching position.
“I know for sure the positions are going to be separate,” Kahleah Copper said during team exit meetings. “Which is great.”
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