Chicago Sky Coach Admits What Doomed Them Vs. Sun

Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon knows very well what's to blame for their narrow loss to the Connecticut Sun: defense ... or the lack thereof.

The Sky suffered a second straight loss on Friday, August 23, after bowing to the Sun, 82-80. Chicago led by as many as seven points in the first quarter, but the team wasn't able to sustain that as Connecticut kept firing shots.

Former Sky player Marina Mabrey, whom Chicago traded to Connecticut last July before the Olympic break, led the way for the Sun with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting. She was 5-of-7 from deep overall, with the Windy City franchise giving her plenty of space to shoot for much of the game.

The Sun shot 36.8 percent from the field (25-of-68) and 24.0 percent (6-of-25) from 3-point land. While those are not great numbers, the fact of the matter is the Sky simply let them shoot and put little resistance.

It didn't help the Sky that they kept fouling, with the Sun attempting 36 free throws and making 26. In comparison, Chicago was 19-of-22 from the charity stripe.

"Everything is defensive," Weatherspoon said of the Sky's biggest shortcoming in the loss, per Chris Smith of ClutchPoints.

"When you're putting them at the free throw line, fouling them, putting them at the free throw line… that's kind of tough for us. We want to defend without fouling, and we had some defensive miscues and letting people be wide open. That's definitely not who we are defensively."

The Sky certainly need to address all their issues quickly and find a way to get back to winning, especially with just 12 games left in the season.

Chicago remains in playoff contention as it continues to hold the eighth seed with an 11-17 record. The Top 8 teams in the WNBA standings qualify for the postseason. However, they are now just one game ahead of the ninth-ranked Atlanta Dream (10-18).

Sure enough, the Sky can't afford any more defensive miscues if they want to make it to the playoffs.

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