The Sky’s 2025 season has been filled with ugly losses. Chicago has only won seven games all season long, sitting firmly outside the playoff picture. The team’s most recent loss to the Seattle Storm is another ugly defeat to add to the list.
Playing without Ariel Atkins and Angel Reese, the Sky didn’t stand much of a chance against the healthy Storm and suffered a brutal 95-57 defeat.
After the game, veteran guard Rachel Banham was notably unhappy with her team’s performance.
“It felt gross,” Banham said during her postgame press conference. She admitted that the Sky got off to a better start than against Minnesota, but still added, “We’re just not consistent. It just feels gross. This is gross basketball, and we know it.”
Chicago has lost four consecutive games now
Angel Reese was on a scoring tear before the All-Star weekend. She recorded eight consecutive double-doubles with at least 15 points. The Sky got four wins over those eight games, including a major 87-81 victory over the Minnesota Lynx. It seemed that things were finally turning around for the Sky.
Then, Reese has to sit out the Sky’s final game before the All-Star break and seemingly suffered another injury against the Lynx. Ariel Atkins was out as well, and the Sky were handed an ugly 86-49 loss by the Atlanta Dream. That trend continued after the short All-Star break with two sizeable losses to the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm.
The Sky struggled in every way imaginable against the Storm
Banham didn’t exaggerate when she said that the Sky played ugly basketball against the Storm. The Sky shot only 33.9 percent from the field and 19 percent from three. Meanwhile, they allowed the Storm to convert over 50 percent of their field goal attempts and 45 percent of their threes.
Chicago also turned the ball over 20 times and conceded 26 points off those turnovers. Moreover, Tyler Marsh’s team lost the fast break and paint battles by significant margins.
Without three of their best players—Angel Reese, Ariel Atkins, and Courtney Vandersloot—the Sky struggled to find any kind of success. The only quarter that was even close was the second quarter, which ended 13-8 in favor of the Storm.
No Sky player even reached the fifteen-point mark, even though Kamilla Cardoso recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Storm has six players who scored in double-figures, and rookie Dominique Malonga got her first double-double in the WNBA. The 19-year-old usually doesn’t play too much, but Noelle Quinn felt comfortable playing her for extended minutes against the Sky.