Friday would have been an opportune time for the Sky to tighten their grip on a playoff spot.
Facing the last-place Storm, whom they had beaten convincingly on the road last week, it looked like a game they should win. But looks can be deceiving, and the only certainty about the Sky this season has been their inconsistency.
The Sky’s 83-74 loss at Wintrust Arena demonstrated just how uncertain their playoff hopes are. Beyond that, it signaled former coach/general manager James Wade’s attempt to prevent the franchise from descending to the bottom of the league is failing.
Interim coach/GM Emre Vatansever said he’s confident his team will ‘‘put it together.’’ Since he has taken over, the Sky (9-15) are 2-6 and have given up their hold on the last spot in the playoff race. They are now tied with the Sparks.
‘‘This team is capable of beating anybody,’’ Vatansever said. ‘‘We showed that a couple of days ago; it just didn’t reflect in the score.’’
But teams don’t earn anything for moral victories. The Sky’s strong collective effort Tuesday against the Aces still resulted in a loss.
The Storm were the aggressors on the Sky’s court from the outset Friday, and Vatansever acknowledged that after the game. He said the Storm (5-19) were desperate for a victory and played like it. The Sky, who are fighting to earn a spot in the playoffs, did not.
‘‘They fought for a win,’’ Vatansever said of the Storm. ‘‘We did a good job most of the time.’’
Before the game, Storm coach Noelle Quinn preached the importance of her team doing a better job on the boards against the Sky. The Storm were outrebounded 44-24 in their loss last Saturday but controlled the glass Friday, outrebounding the Sky 14-4 in the first quarter and 46-26 in the game.
The Storm’s 16 offensive rebounds led to 26 second-chance points. The Sky, meanwhile, scored only nine points off six offensive boards.
‘‘We were there,’’ Vatansever said. ‘‘We played defense. Twelve blocked shots, when did that happen last? We shot 10 more free throws than them. We were aggressive. We missed some shots, some easy buckets.
‘‘This is the game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.’’
The Sky have been unable to string together more than three victories this season and have gone on multiple losing streaks of two games or more. What’s becoming more and more apparent is that they might not have enough to win consistently together.
Three-time All-Star Kahleah Copper finished with a Sky-high 17 points after scoring a career-high 37 against the Aces. But Copper alone can’t propel the Sky to the postseason.
Dana Evans was the Sky’s next-leading scorer with 12 points, with Alanna Smith and Courtney Williams adding 10 and Elizabeth Williams eight.
The Storm were led by Gabby Williams and Ezi Magbegor, who scored 17 points apiece. Sami Whitcomb had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
All eyes, however, were on former Niles West star Jewell Loyd, who had a crowd of friends and family watching her score 15 points to go with six rebounds and six assists.
The Sky need to keep their attention on Loyd, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. But even if Loyd were interested in signing with the Sky, she alone wouldn’t be able to prevent their rebuild from extending into next season.
