Sky snap eight-game losing streak with victory against Mystics
When the buzzer sounded, Sky center Elizabeth Williams looked to the ceiling, raised her hands and smiled.
The losing streak was over.
After eight straight losses, the Sky (8-21) snapped the skid with a 78-64 win over the Mystics (13-16). It took playing a team that had just traded away its best player hours before tipoff — but the Sky got it done.
“Sometimes just winning that one game, it just changes the mindset and mentality and reminds us what we’re capable of,” Williams said.
The Sky came out swinging, with Williams going 4-for-4 in the first quarter. She finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, setting the tone with one of her strongest performances of the season.
Kamilla Cardoso was firing, too, notching a double-double by halftime. Though she wasn’t quite as dominant in the second half, she stayed assertive and finished the game with 16 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.
The timing couldn’t have been better for the return of leading scorer Ariel Atkins, who had missed nearly three weeks with a calf injury. She started and brought quickness on the perimeter the Sky had been missing. Her minutes were slightly limited, but she was efficient, going 7-for-10 from the field and hitting a dagger three late to seal the win.
“It felt good to be back out there with my teammates,” Atkins said. “I hate not being able to help my team.”
Overall, the Sky played with far more pace and fight. The offense was clicking, with 22 assists on 54% shooting from the field. Turnovers remained an issue — they coughed it up 18 times — but their energy made the difference.
The Mystics, meanwhile, looked like a team without the head of the snake. After trading leading scorer Brittney Sykes to the Storm — likely in a bid to boost their lottery odds — they looked disjointed from the jump. They shot just 25% from the field in the first quarter, and a late run helped them scrape together 28 points by halftime.
The game was mostly a paint-dominated affair, with the teams combining for just six made threes.
Atkins recovery
Atkins said the recovery process from her calf injury went smoothly, thanks in part to her work with Sky physical therapist Jess Cohen, recently hired from the Portland Trail Blazers.
“Mentally I was okay because I knew I was going to come back from it,” Atkins said before the game of the recovery process.
The focus was getting the inflammation and pain down — and finally, they felt it was time. She finished with 15 points and 5 assists against the Mystics.
Reese report
Angel Reese missed her third straight game with a back injury. Head coach Tyler Marsh said there’s no timetable for her return but added he’s not worried about a season-ending issue. Reese also missed shootaround due to an unrelated illness.