Recap: Chicago hands Connecticut its first loss in the month of June with 93-75 win

On Sunday, the Chicago Sky put up their highest-scoring game of the season following their lowest scoring output of 69 points in a loss to the Fever on Friday. The Sky beat the Sun 93-75 on the strength of a 56-point first half.

After ending the first quarter in a tie, 27-27, the Sky scored the first 15 points of the second quarter. The half ended with the Sky up 56-35 due to Chicago’s 67.5 percent shooting in the first half.

The Sky built their first-half lead by relying on the two-point shot, with six of their eight made three-pointers coming in the second half. The Sun never found a scoring run of their own, but scoring was relatively even in the second half.

Cheyenne Parker came off the bench for the Sky to register a career-high 22 points on the strength of 8-of-10 shooting. The Sky also saw four starters get into double figures.

An area for improvement would be in Chicago’s discipline. They allowed the Sun to shoot 21 free throws. Fortunately for Chicago, though, it ended up not being a huge factor because Connecticut only connected on 12 of those shots.

Shekinna Stricklen could be the key indicator as to whether the Sun will win or lose a certain game. In nine wins, Stricklen has made at least two three-point shots. In two losses, Stricklen is 1-of-12 from the field and 0-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Jonquel Jones recorded her seventh double-double of the year, but scored just 11 points which is her second lowest total of the season.

Jones wasn’t that impressed her stat sheet:

Honestly, I really don’t care. I just want to win. I’m sorry, I just want to win. I think there were a lot of ways I could have been better. And that’s what I’m thinking about to be honest.

Alyssa Thomas bounced back with a team-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting after shooting 1-of-7 in the Sun’s last game. Thomas put the loss in perspective and identified areas where she thought the team could improve as they face Dallas in their next game:

We didn’t play well tonight. It happens. It’s a long season. You just kind of gotta let this go. Learn from it and move onto the next.

We weren’t as sharp as we usually are, Dallas is a team that likes to run and they’re really big so we’ve just gotta focus, lock in on [defense] and rebound.

Up next, the Sky stay at home to face the Washington Mystics, who are winners of their last three games. The Sun go on the road to face the Dallas Wings, who have won their last two home games by double digits.