A 21-point lead, a two-point finish
36% shooting. A team with 13 wins and 22 losses. A win anyway.
Chicago beat Seattle 82-80 on the road last night. The Sky were up by 21 in the first half, 46-29 at the break. They finished with a two-point cushion after a last-gasp layup from the hosts missed the mark.
Kamilla Cardoso held it together. 22 points, 12 rebounds. Just as the game started to slip away, she buried two straight baskets to give Chicago some breathing room.
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The free-throw line saved Chicago
The Sky shot 36% from the floor. Ugly numbers for a team that still walked away with the win. But Chicago made 22 of 27 from the line. That was the difference. Simple as that.
Natasha Cloud finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds, and in the second quarter she picked up her 1,900th career assist on back-to-back feeds to Jacy Sheldon and Cardoso. She is now the eighth player in WNBA history to hit that mark. Courtney Vandersloot added 15 points.
The final 20 seconds turned into a free-throw shootout. Awa Fam knocked down two to pull Seattle within one, 79-78. Cloud answered with two of her own. Dominique Malonga replied. Vandersloot split a pair with 9.9 seconds left. Jade Melbourne then missed a running layup at the buzzer.
Storm sink again
Seattle are now 7 wins and 30 losses. The first quarter summed up their season: five makes on 20 shots, 10 turnovers, and a 23-11 hole on the scoreboard.
Then came the push. Eleven straight points to open the third quarter. Eleven of the next 12 in the fourth, bringing them back within two with 3:51 left.
Malonga posted 19 points and 13 rebounds, Ezi Magbegor had 17, Awa Fam 14, Melbourne 11 and Zia Cooke 10. It still wasn’t enough. It was the second time in seven days that the Storm had faced Chicago. The second loss.
The sting in the tail: Seattle actually shot better than Chicago over the game, 40.3% to 36%. And still lost.
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