Guard Courtney Williams got personal with Sky fans before Friday night’s game at Wintrust Arena, meeting a group courtside and taking a selfie with a young fan’s phone after warmups.
She hasn’t been shy about how the crowd’s energy fuels her. And it did so again in an
86-78 victory over the Sparks, propelling her to her first career triple-double — 12 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
It was the fifth triple-double in Sky history.
“You don’t have a triple-double without your teammates,” Williams said. “That was a big thing, them trusting me to play-make and knock down shots.”
General manager and coach James Wade was more generous in crediting her for the feat.
“She’s a high-IQ player,” he said. “She just needed to get used to our system a little bit.”
When Wade signed Williams in February, he didn’t necessarily anticipate she’d be the one leading the offense. He had options — Williams, Marina Mabrey and Dana Evans — and allowed them to develop their roles organically. Through training camp, he said, he saw a bit of himself in Williams.
“As we got into the season, Courtney is someone that’s very communicative,” he said. “We were communicating more than me and any of the other guards. I thought she was someone I can talk to throughout the game. She can replicate what I want by communicating that to the players. That makes it easier for me to have the ball in her hands.”
The Sky (7-9) have struggled early in the season without a true point guard, ranking 11th in the WNBA in offensive rating compared to last season, when they finished third in the league behind the Aces and the Sun. Friday was their most complete night offensively this year. Forward Alanna Smith led the team with 18 points, forward Kahleah Copper added 17 and Mabrey finished with 15. The Sky shot 56.9% from the field and 46.7% from three-point range. It was the first time this season the entire starting five finished in double figures in scoring.
“Sometimes [our offense] gets masked by our defensive intensity that gives us easy run-outs,” Wade said. “This was the best game when you talk about running sets, spacing and picking people apart offensively.”
The Sky finished with 28 assists on 35 made field goals.
Defensively, they again were able to limit the Sparks’ inside game, holding starting forward Nneka Ogwumike to 14 points. Forward Dearica Hamby finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds and had four of the Sparks’ 11 points in the closing two minutes, which cut the Sky’s 17-point lead to six with a minute to play.
Sky veteran center Elizabeth Williams finished with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting. In her first season with the team, she has made a significant impact on the defensive end (she’s second on the team in blocks per game with 1.4 and averages five rebounds). On offense, however, she has struggled to finish at the rim in comparison to previous seasons. Her 55.9% shooting there is the second-lowest in her career.
“Sometimes we start to overthink things a little bit,” Elizabeth Williams said. “So I’m trying not to do that as much and just literally focus on getting the ball high on the glass.”
Continuity remains a hurdle for the Sky, who have yet to string together more than two wins in a row. They’ll have another chance Sunday on the road against the Fever.
