Sky: Ring Ceremony Comes With Win; KFC Shines In First Home Game

Kahleah Copper is welcomed back as the reigning champs celebrate their 2021 victory once more against Indiana

In a highly-attended event (with 7,741 fans packing Wintrust Arena), the stars were shining bright on and off the court for the Chicago Sky as they hung their first championship banner to the rafters during the ring ceremony.

It was a historical night for many occasions, topped by a 95-90 victory over the Indiana Fever that improved the Sky to 4-2 on the season.

But for players such as guard Allie Quigley, being a hometown girl and winning the championship last season and getting her championship ring at her alma mater is a special event that not a lot of players get to witness.

“It’s pretty cool and rare,” said Quigley, a former DePaul Blue Demon.

“Unfortunately I did not play at [Wintrust Arena] so it doesn’t feel like ‘home DePaul’ since I played at Lincoln Park, but just to be able to be in DePaul’s locker room and have that memory, seeing all the alums in the hallway definitely feels like home.”

The night was not only a time of celebration in championship success, but a night of elation as their Finals MVP Kahleah Copper came back from overseas to play in her first home game of the season. 

Sky fans cheered the team on this night to not only congratulate them in receiving their rings, but to once again, in real time, experience what the Sky have missed so far this season: consistent intensity and pressure amongst the perimeter on both ends of the floor.

“We missed that,” head coach James Wade said after the game. “You can tell (Copper) wasn’t in our locker room or in our practices because she takes us up to another level. That energy is hard to match and it is a trust that is already there that you know she is going to bring her “A” game even if the shots aren’t falling.”

KFC displayed her impact on both ends of the floor to start the game, setting the tone for a strong first quarter from the team. The team shot 56 percent from the field and 62% from the three, thanks to aggressive play from Naperville native Candace Parker and the bench play of Dana Evans and Ruthy Hebard. 

The second quarter, however, was a different situation. The Sky’s offense slowed down and the temperature began to rise for the Indiana Fever. Defensively, the Sky struggled to maintain the defensive pressure they brought to the first quarter, and thanks to the offensive leadership of Victoria Vivians, the Fever stormed back with a 13-point turnaround to take the lead heading into halftime. The team shot 36% at the half and maintained shooting 45% from the 3-point line. 

The Sky came back out with vengeance in the second half. The team goes on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 51. Since then, the game continued to go back and forth, possession by possession. But in the biggest moments, Copper stepped up in big ways, especially defensively, along with a buzzer-beating layup in the post by Azura Stevens to give the Sky the necessary edge heading into the fourth quarter to complete a 12-point swing that gave the team a five point lead, 70-65. 

“It felt different the second Kah got back,” guard Courtney Vandersloot said. “She just brings a swagg that we just don’t have without her. She is such a glue-type player, aside from all the incredible talent she has on the court. She is that player for us and we feed off it.”

From that point, the Sky was the limit and the team continued to fight with Copper and Parker leading the charge. The Sky capped off their celebration with a victory to bring them to a 4-2 record overall. The team shot the ball particularly well, shooting 48% from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line, but they also had a plethora of turnovers that at times were unforced. Nevertheless, Copper and Parker made timely plays that gave the Sky the necessary surge to come out on top. 

“We know that every game is not going to be perfect,” Vandersloot said. “We made a lot of mistakes tonight but we don’t panic and we know that it is 40 min and this is a game of runs. We just have to make more runs than the other team —- we have to grind out wins.”

Joshua M. Hicks is a senior writer for WARR Media and host of the “In The Scope” Podcast