There will be a new WNBA champion this year.
Even with home-court advantage, the defending champion Chicago Sky couldn’t quite take the next step to the WNBA finals as they fell to the Connecticut Sun 72-63 on Sept. 8 at Wintrust Arena.
Kahleah Copper led the Sky with 22 points. However, Candace Parker scored only seven and Allie Quigley scored only three.
The Sky are now 9-8 in playoff-elimination games. They had won its last four elimination games: vs. Dallas (2021), at Minnesota (2021), vs. New York (2022) and at New York (2022).
According to The Chicago Tribune, the Sky took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter and led 63-54 with 4:46 to play before the Sun went on an 18-0 run to end the game.
“It’s tough,” Sky coach James Wade said. “It’s probably one of the biggest disappointments that I’ve had professionally. … It’s hard to put into words right now.”
The Sun will now face the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces for the WNBA championship.