Chicago Sky Win First WNBA Title in Franchise History

Chicago Sky
Photo by Andrea Vilchez/SPP/Shutterstock (12536829u)

The Chicago Sky are the new WNBA champions after claiming a hard-fought 80-74 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday night that lifted them to 3-1 in the finals series. This was the first title for the franchise since it joined the league in 2006.

Sky’s victory was even more impressive considering that they were down for the better part of Game 4 and had a 14-point deficit at one point. But Chicago players didn’t give up and managed to slowly chip away before turning things around with some big defensive stops and great offensive plays late in the fourth quarter.

Chicago’s hero for the game was Allie Quigley with 26 points and five rebounds. She had help in All-Star forward Candace Parker, who had an impressive stat line of 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Courtney Vandersloot added a near triple-double with 10 points, 15 assists, and nine rebounds.

Still, the WNBA Finals MVP award went to Kahleah Copper. Despite having a quiet game on Sunday, Copper was stellar throughout the series. She averaged 17 points per game while making 50 percent of her shots from the field.

“I worked so hard. I worked so hard, and my teammates and my coaches believed in me, and I just stayed down until it was my turn,” said Copper while crediting Parker for the influence she had on her development.

Chicago finished the 2021 WNBA season as a sixth seed after going 16-16 and were not expected to make a deep playoff run. Still, they managed to comfortably beat their opponents in the first two rounds and then beat the first seed Connecticut Sun 3-1 in the Semifinals. The trip to the 2021 WNBA Finals was Chicago’s first since 2014 when they were swept by the Mercury.

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