The Sky had a chance to retake their place in the postseason on Sunday.
After the Mystics lost to the Dream, they needed a win over the Mercury to return to eighth place. For most of the game, it looked like they would until the third quarter.
It was a scene far too familiar to the Sky in which an opponent’s run stifles them. This time, however, was slightly different. Instead of wilting, the Sky remained steady, regaining as much as a three-point advantage in the fourth quarter before the Mercury shut them down.
Sunday’s 93-88 Sky loss keeps them at ninth in league standings.
“That’s a veteran team over there,” Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon said. “The bodies that we have, probably a little bit of fatigue. There’s a little bit of execution [issues] here on the offensive end and we couldn’t get a defensive stop when we needed it [in the fourth quarter].”
Kamilla Cardoso aggravated her right shoulder in the Sky’s loss to the Lynx on Friday, the same one that sidelined her for six games at the beginning of the year. She started for the Sky Sunday and was not on any minutes restriction.
However, she only played nine minutes for the Sky, finishing with two points and three rebounds. She was held out of the second half due to pain in her right shoulder.
“Her health is more important to me than anything,” Weatherspoon said. “When we spoke, that’s what she was feeling and it’s more important to make sure she’s healthy.”
Weatherspoon didn’t specify if Cardoso will be available Tuesday against the Dream, but said they will have a “next player up” mentality. At this point, the Sky’s injury list includes Angel Reese, Diamond DeShields, Elizabeth Williams and now Cardoso.
Forward Michaela Onyenwere played all 40 minutes for the Sky Sunday night despite dealing with an unspecified injury, according to Weatherspoon. She finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Weatherspoon favored a small lineup against the Mercury. She inserted guard Rachel Banham into the starting five to replace forward Isabelle Harrison. Instead of going to forward Brianna Turner with Cardoso’s spare minutes, she favored guard Dana Evans.
The results were positive. The Sky are the worst team in the league in made three-pointers. Sunday night they shot 56% compared to the Mercury’s 37.5%.
Onyenwere went 7-for-13 from deep.
Chennedy Carter led the Sky with 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Rachel Banham finished with 17 points, shooting 5-for-11 from three.
The Mercury were without leading scorer Kahleah Copper, who missed her second consecutive game with a back injury. Mercury center Brittney Griner and guard Diana Taurasi combined for 51 points. Guard Natasha Cloud added 18 points.
The Mystics, Sky, and Dream are now in a three-way tie in league standings with two games remaining on all three teams’ schedules. The Mystics own the tiebreaker over both teams.
The Sky would need to out-win the Mystics in the remaining games to regain their postseason position over them. The Sky are currently 2-1 against the Dream in head-to-head matchups. The Sky will need a win on Tuesday to secure the tiebreaker advantage over them.
“We all have 13 wins,” Onyenwere said. “Us, Washington and Atlanta. We’re not out like [Weatherspoon] said. That’s motivation enough.”