Sky miss chance to snap skid in loss to depleted Valkyries

If there were ever a time for the Sky to steal one, it was Friday night at home.

They were facing a depleted Valkyries team that had played the night before in Washington, traveled overnight, and showed up in Chicago with just nine available players — including one signed to a hardship contract eight hours before tipoff.

But the Sky (7-20) came up short again, falling 73-66 at Wintrust Arena for their seventh straight loss.

It was a back-and-forth game, but it had the feel of a beat-up affair. Both teams were short-handed — the Sky suited up just eight — and both struggled to shoot. The Valkyries won despite hitting just 36.9% from the field.

Still, the Sky grinded. Four players finished in double figures: Elizabeth Williams, Kamilla Cardoso, Kia Nurse and Rachel Banham.

“I thought we played pretty hard, gave ourselves an opportunity to win that game,” Nurse said.

That’s been a rarity this season — a game that comes down to the wire. But this one did. After giving up a 9-0 run early in the fourth, the Sky clawed back. Banham found Cardoso on a pick-and-roll to cut the deficit to one with 2:23 left.

The Valkyries responded immediately, and the Sky didn’t score again.

Northwestern product Veronica Burton led the Valkyries with 18 points and seven assists, plus four free throws in the closing seconds to ice it.

“This game came down to late-game execution, and that starts and ends with me,” head coach Tyler Marsh said postgame.

It was also a reunion on the sidelines. Marsh faced Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, a friend and former Aces colleague. The two won two titles together as assistants in Las Vegas.

Coaching familiarity or not, the Sky knew what was coming. The Valkyries take more threes than any team in the league, and they hit 10 of them Friday. The Sky, meanwhile, couldn’t buy one. A wide-open look from Rebecca Allen with 20 seconds left clanked out, and fans headed for the exits.

There were a few bright spots. Cardoso continued her strong stretch with her fourth double-double in five games. And newly signed point guard Sevgi Uzun made her Sky debut.

The 27-year-old had planned to rest after playing with the Turkish national team at EuroBasket. But when the Sky called, she answered. Her presence helped — both as a steady ballhandler and as a quicker point-of-attack defender than the Sky have had most of the season.

She scored five points in 17 minutes and helped keep team turnovers down to 10 — one of their lowest totals all year.

“I thought she took command of the offense and pressured the ball well,” Marsh said.

But as has been the case since the All-Star break, the story of the game was still who’s not playing.

Sophomore forward Angel Reese sat out with recurring back tightness. Leading scorer Ariel Atkins missed her sixth straight game with a calf injury. The Sky haven’t won a game without her — but she’s practiced two days in a row, and signs point to a return soon.

The weirdest moment of the night came in the third quarter, when play had to be stopped because a dildo was thrown onto the court. It was the second time this week someone has done that at a Valkyries game — the same thing happened on Tuesday night in Atlanta.

The Sky — already fed up with losing — weren’t amused.

“It’s super disrespectful,” Williams said. “I don’t really get the point of it. Whoever’s doing that needs to grow up.”

Next up is the 16-11 Mercury on Sunday at Wintrust Arena. The Sky won’t get another crack at a bottom-half team until Tuesday against the Mystics.