WNBA's Chicago Sky Catch a Fatal Fever vs Indiana in Home Opener

They called it a housewarming party. It was the Chicago Sky's first regular season game in their new home, Allstate Arena, versus the Indiana Fever. An all-time high attendance of 6,477 (previous high was 6,304) showed up for the party, and made enough noise to be a crowd twice that size, but it wasn't enough. The building was still less than half-filled.

Rookie Epiphany Prince, Chicago's sixth woman, owned the first half. Playing less than a full quarter, she managed to lead all scorers by half-time with 14, shooting 4 of 5 from the field including one three-pointer, and 5 of 5 from the line. She also had two steals. But it wasn't enough. She was missing in action in the second half missing key clutch shots down the stretch.

Catherine Kraayeveld owned the third quarter, scoring most of her 16 points during the period, highlighted by two consecutive three-pointers in the sixth minute. But that wasn't enough. She went scoreless for the last 14 minutes of regulation plus the overtime period, and ended the game just one point shy of 1,400 career points. 

Sylvia Fowles (pictured above) owned the fourth quarter. She scored the tying basket on a Jabar-esque hook shot with 14 seconds left. She also scored the first hoop in overtime. But it wasn't enough. Like her teammates, she wasn't able to sustain her streak long enough to eek out a win.

In the end, the new Chicago Sky, led by three key newcomers—Kraayeveld and Shameka Christon, obtained in the offseason in a trade from New York, and the rookie Prince—looked like the old Sky, the same old Sky Chicago fans have loved and lost with for the previous four seasons—a team with more talent than the score or the record reflects, a team with hot streaks and brilliant runs but unable to put it all together long enough or well enough to make it count in the end.

With the loss, Chicago falls to 0-3 on the season, having lost on the road to Connecticut and New York before the not so happy housewarming.

The best part of the game began with about 6:45 remaining in the first quarter after Chicago had fallen behind by 9-4. A minute later they went ahead 10-9. With 2:45 left they had the biggest lead of either team in the game, at 20-11.

But by the end of the half, they fell behind by a basket briefly before Prince put them back in the lead by making three free throws after being fouled on a missed shot from three point range with one second left. 

The Sky still owned most of the second half, except near the end, when it mattered most, and then after pulling it together briefly to squeak into overtime, they gradually began to crack under pressure. By the end of the extra period they couldn't hit a layup and couldn't stop Indiana, who couldn't seem to miss.

There are some silver linings in the cloudy Sky. Half the squad, and half the first six are new to the team and at times there were glimpses of a yet unfulfilled potential. There is hope that after a few more games together the squad will gel and the moments of sharp passing and patience working for the best shot will be the rule more than the exception.

Epiphany Prince, the rookie out of Rutgers (one of the women radio personality Don Imus so infamously dissed with racial stereotypes a couple of years ago) has been consistent on defense averaging around 3 steals per game, and is nearly flawless from the foul line.

The two from New York bring experience and talent in equal portions, although in tonight's game Christon made little impact and Kraayeveld choked in the clutch. Still we expect both of them to have a winning influence on the team as the season progresses.

And of course the attendance is a glass half full. The new "house" is significantly bigger than the old one, at UIC Pavilion, and as we've said, because of this, the crowd  looked sparse. But, we can hope that the record attendance is reflective of the new location and will continue to maintain at that level or better throughout the season.