Sky-Mystics Preview
The Chicago Sky and the Washington Mystics have a chance to get to the .500 mark at the expense of each other. They'll open a home-and-home series Wednesday night in Washington, where the Mystics have a 0-3 mark. These teams are off to disappointing 2-4 starts, but this set gives both a chance to even their record with a rematch in Chicago set for Friday. The Sky took the final four of five matchups in 2015. Chicago has played once with its preferred starting lineup since point guard Courtney Vandersloot missed three games with an ankle injury. She returned and had two points in five minutes in Sunday's 92-87 victory at Dallas that snapped a four-game slide. Jamierra Faulkner has filled in adequately in her place as the starting point guard and is among the league leaders in field-goal percentage at 60.4. Faulkner scored 13 points with nine assists Sunday. Reigning league MVP Elena Delle Donne scored 14 points for her second-lowest total. The Sky won for the first time with the superstar in the lineup since she missed a season-opening 93-70 rout of Connecticut on May 14. Chicago held a 48-22 advantage in points in the paint. Rookie Imani Boyette was a major factor with season highs of 10 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes. The Sky began the season ranked third in the Associated Press WNBA Power Rankings and have slipped to No. 7. Washington is ranked 10th and returns home after falling short of completing a perfect three-game trip with Sunday's 93-77 defeat to Phoenix. Stefanie Dolson scored 14 points and Emma Meesseman added 12. The Mystics are one of the league's top 3-point shooting teams at 35.7 percent, but made 23.5 against the Mercury. Washington has lost by an average of 17.0 points during its winless home start. The home fans will get their first look at Ivory Latta, averaging 12.0 points in two games off the bench after missing the first due to knee surgery. She led the team with 13.4 points per game in 2015. |