Sky use fourth quarter run to close out the back-and-forth contest

Uncasville, CT (June 15, 2025)- Today, the Connecticut Sun (2-8) dropped a home contest to the Chicago Sky (3-7), 78-66. With the loss, the Sun move to 1-3 in Commissioner’s Cup play, while the Sky pick up their first Commissioner’s Cup win, moving to 1-3.

Marina Mabrey led the Sun with 22 points, five rebounds and three assists in the effort. She nailed a season-high five three-point field goals, going 5/12 from beyond the arc. Her 22-poinit outing marks her fourth 20+ point performance of the season. She has also finished with 10+ points in all but two games this year.

Tina Charles added 19 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steal in the 36 minutes played. Charles went 8/20 from the field and 2/2 from the free-throw line. Jacy Sheldon rounded out the Sun’s double-digit scorers, notching 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and a team-high three steals.

The Sun began the contest on an 8-0 run to force the Sky into an early timeout with 7:55 to play in the first quarter. Marina Mabrey tallied five of Connecticut’s eight points in the opening minutes. The Sky missed their first seven field goal attempts to begin the game. Chicago went on a 14-4 run to take a 14-12 lead and force Connecticut into a timeout with 3:33 to play in the first. The Sun ended the quarter on a 4-0 spurt to take a 16-14 lead into the second. Tina Charles had six points to lead all Sun scorers.

Chicago opened the second outscoring Connecticut, 11-7, to take a 25-23 lead with 5:21 to play in the first half. Marina Mabrey tallied five of the Sun’s seven points to begin the quarter. Both teams scored 13 points to close the second, with the Sky taking a two-point lead, 38-36, heading into the locker room. Mabrey led all scorers at the break with 16 points, going 4/8 from beyond the arc through twenty minutes. The first half saw 11 lead changes and four ties.

An 11-7 start to the second half gave the Sun a two-point advantage, 47-45, with 4:55 to play in the third. Chicago closed the third outscoring Connecticut, 14-7, to take a five-point lead into the fourth, 59-54. Tina Charles notched 11 of her 19 points in the third quarter to lead the Sun in scoring in the ten minutes coming out of the halftime break.

The Sky began the fourth on an 8-2 run to take an 11-point lead of the game, 67-56 and force the Sun into a timeout with 7:49 to play in the contest. Chicago led by as many as 14 points down the stretch and was able to close out Connecticut, winning the fourth quarter, 19-12, and the contest, 78-66. Jacy Sheldon and Bria Hartley each had four points in the final quarter of action to lead the Sun.

The Sun finished shooting under 40% for the fifth time this season, going 25/64 (39.1%) from the field on the day, while the Sky finished 42.9% (27/63) from the floor in the game. Connecticut held the advantage in second-chance opportunities (16-11), but Chicago won the paint (34-24), the fast break (14-9) and the bench production (36-2).

Rookie guard Hailey Van Lith led the Sky with a career-high 16 points, five rebounds, one assist and one block in 24 minutes off the bench, while sophomore forward Angel Reese tallied a triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

Notes:

Today marked the Sun’s fourth Commissioner’s Cup game of the 2025 season. With the loss, $1,000 will be donated to the ACLU of Connecticut, the Sun’s 2025 Commissioner’s Cup beneficiary. A total of $6,000 has been donated thus far through three Cup games this season.
The game saw 13 lead changes and seven ties.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa returned to the lineup after missing the Sun’s last contest with an ankle injury. She finished with five points, a team-high 10 rebounds, one steal and the team’s only two blocks.
Bria Hartley finished with six points, three rebounds, a team-high five assists and two steals on the day.
Lindsay Allen also returned to the lineup after missing the Sun’s last six games with a hamstring and Achilles injury. She logged one assist in 12 minutes played.
Angel Reese’s 11 assists mark the most by a Sun opposing player this season. The last time an opposing player dished out 11+ assists against the Sun during regular season play was September 17, 2024 (Courtney Williams- 12).
Connecticut scored 19 points off of Chicago’s 14 turnovers. The Sky turned the Sun over 12 times and scored nine points of their mistakes.

Team	Score	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	PTS	REB	AST
CON	66	16	20	18	12	Mabrey- 22	Nelson-Ododa- 10	Harley- 5
CHI	78	14	24	21	19	Van Lith- 16	Reese- 13	Reese- 11

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun head to Indianapolis for their final Commissioner’s Cup game of 2025 to take on the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, June 17 at 7:00 PM ET.

Connecticut Falls to Chicago, 78-66