Latest news with #ArielAtkins
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chicago Sky Star Makes Kate Martin Statement After Loss to Valkyries
Chicago Sky Star Makes Kate Martin Statement After Loss to Valkyries originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Chicago Sky dropped to 4-11 during the 2025 WNBA season after Friday's loss to the Golden State Valkyries. The defeat at the hands of the league's newest expansion franchise keeps the Sky in 11th place in the WNBA standings. Advertisement Ariel Atkins led the Sky in scoring once again with 20 points in the loss. She also chipped in five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. 2024 WNBA All-Star forward Angel Reese added 17 points and 18 rebounds, as well as two assists and a steal. With this performance, she became the first player in WNBA history to record 35 points, 35 rebounds and eight assists in a two-game span (via Polymarket Hoops). Chicago Sky guard Ariel Atkins (7).David Gonzales-Imagn Images For the Valkyries, who now own an 8-7 record after Friday's victory, it was guard Kayla Thornton who led the charge with a career-high 29 points. Veteran guard Tiffany Hayes added 13 points, and second-year player Kate Martin pitched in 11 in the win. Advertisement Atkins has led Chicago in scoring in two of the last three contests. After the game, Atkins spoke to the media about Martin and her strong performance on Friday evening. 'Kate [Martin] is always aggressive," Atkins said. "That's who she's been since she was at Iowa." As a rookie for the Las Vegas Aces, Martin only averaged 2.6 points and did not play in every game. She has enjoyed a change of scenery, however, after being selected by Golden State in the 2025 expansion draft. This season, she has nearly tripled her scoring output with 6.7 points per game, and she is contributing 2.8 rebounds per contest as well. Her 11 points on Friday were her fourth-highest output of the season. Advertisement Chicago will be back in action on Sunday afternoon when it takes on the 5-11 Los Angeles Sparks. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. ET at Arena. Related: Chicago Sky in Disbelief Over Angel Reese Play Against Valkyries Related: Chicago Sky Announce Change After Kamilla Cardoso Leaves Team Related: Ranking the 25 Best WNBA Players of All Time This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chicago Sky Coach Admits Blame for Angel Reese Play in 11th Loss
Chicago Sky Coach Admits Blame for Angel Reese Play in 11th Loss originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Chicago Sky were defeated by the Golden State Valkyries on Friday evening by a score of 83 to 78. The loss gives them a 4-11 record during the 2025 WNBA season, which places them 11th in the league standings. Advertisement All-Star forward Angel Reese helped the Sky with 17 points and 18 rebounds in the loss. Veteran guard Ariel Atkins paced the offense with 20 points, which is the second time in the last three games that she has led Chicago in scoring. 10-year veteran guard Kayla Thornton scored a season-high 29 points for the Valkyries in the win. Tiffany Hayes chipped in 13, Kate Martin scored 11 and rookie guard Kaitlyn Chen added a career-best 10 points. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5).David Gonzales-Imagn Images The game was a back-and-forth matchup, as no team led by more than nine points at any juncture in the game. With 32.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Reese made a layup to bring the Sky within three points. Advertisement While it was a one-score game and Chicago could have played out the possession without intentionally fouling, Reese ended up fouling Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes with 22.0 seconds left. Hayes made both free throws and effectively put the game out of reach. A member of the media asked Sky head coach Tyler Marsh about the mistake after the game, and he admitted blame for the sequence that involved Reese. "That was all on me. That was my choice to have them foul," Marsh admitted. "That was a mismanagement of the clock, so you can direct that to me." Through the first 14 games of the 2025 season, Reese had been averaging 11.3 points and a league-leading 11.9 rebounds per contest. Friday marked her second straight game with at least 17 points and 17 rebounds. Advertisement The Sky will look to bounce back from this loss on Sunday afternoon when they take on the 5-11 Los Angeles Sparks, whom they just defeated on Tuesday by a score of 97 to 86. Sunday's game will take place at Arena in Los Angeles, and tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. ET. Related: Chicago Sky Star Makes Kate Martin Statement After Loss to Valkyries Related: Chicago Sky in Disbelief Over Angel Reese Play Against Valkyries Related: Ranking the 25 Best WNBA Players of All Time This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Los Angeles hosts Chicago, looks to end home slide
Chicago Sky (4-11, 1-7 Eastern Conference) at Los Angeles Sparks (5-11, 3-9 Western Conference) Los Angeles; Sunday, 4 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles Sparks takes on Chicago Sky looking to break its four-game home losing streak. Advertisement The Sparks have gone 1-6 at home. Los Angeles is eighth in the WNBA with 8.2 offensive rebounds per game led by Dearica Hamby averaging 2.6 offensive boards. The Sky have gone 2-7 away from home. Chicago gives up 87.9 points to opponents and has been outscored by 10.0 points per game. Los Angeles is shooting 43.8% from the field this season, 2.0 percentage points lower than the 45.8% Chicago allows to opponents. Chicago averages 77.9 points per game, 8.6 fewer points than the 86.5 Los Angeles allows to opponents. The teams meet for the third time this season. In the last meeting on June 25 the Sky won 97-86 led by 27 points from Kamilla Cardoso, while Azura Stevens scored 21 points for the Sparks. Advertisement TOP PERFORMERS: Hamby is averaging 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 steals for the Sparks. Kelsey Plum is averaging 15.6 points over the last 10 games. Elizabeth Williams is averaging 6.7 points for the Sky. Ariel Atkins is averaging 14.8 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Sparks: 3-7, averaging 81.4 points, 34.3 rebounds, 18.8 assists, 7.1 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 44.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 89.1 points per game. Sky: 3-7, averaging 77.3 points, 34.7 rebounds, 18.9 assists, 7.9 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 42.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 84.9 points. Advertisement INJURIES: Sparks: Cameron Brink: out (knee), Rae Burrell: out (leg). Sky: Courtney Vandersloot: out for season (acl). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Los Angeles hosts Chicago, looks to end home slide
Chicago Sky (4-11, 1-7 Eastern Conference) at Los Angeles Sparks (5-11, 3-9 Western Conference) Los Angeles; Sunday, 4 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles Sparks takes on Chicago Sky looking to break its four-game home losing streak. The Sparks have gone 1-6 at home. Los Angeles is eighth in the WNBA with 8.2 offensive rebounds per game led by Dearica Hamby averaging 2.6 offensive boards. The Sky have gone 2-7 away from home. Chicago gives up 87.9 points to opponents and has been outscored by 10.0 points per game. Los Angeles is shooting 43.8% from the field this season, 2.0 percentage points lower than the 45.8% Chicago allows to opponents. Chicago averages 77.9 points per game, 8.6 fewer points than the 86.5 Los Angeles allows to opponents. The teams meet for the third time this season. In the last meeting on June 25 the Sky won 97-86 led by 27 points from Kamilla Cardoso, while Azura Stevens scored 21 points for the Sparks. TOP PERFORMERS: Hamby is averaging 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 steals for the Sparks. Kelsey Plum is averaging 15.6 points over the last 10 games. Elizabeth Williams is averaging 6.7 points for the Sky. Ariel Atkins is averaging 14.8 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Sparks: 3-7, averaging 81.4 points, 34.3 rebounds, 18.8 assists, 7.1 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 44.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 89.1 points per game. Sky: 3-7, averaging 77.3 points, 34.7 rebounds, 18.9 assists, 7.9 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 42.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 84.9 points. INJURIES: Sparks: Cameron Brink: out (knee), Rae Burrell: out (leg). Sky: Courtney Vandersloot: out for season (acl). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chicago Sky Request Immediate Action For Angel Reese on Friday
Chicago Sky Request Immediate Action For Angel Reese on Friday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky have continued to struggle to begin the 2025 WNBA season, falling to 4-10 and fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. Advertisement On Friday, however, the Sky will look for their second winning streak of the year, traveling to San Francisco to take on Kate Martin and the Golden State Valkyries. Despite Chicago's poor start, Reese is putting together another WNBA All-Star campaign. The former LSU Tigers forward is averaging a double-double of 11.3 points and 11.9 rebounds per game to go along with 3.7 assists. With All-Star voting set to close on Saturday, Friday marked the final '2-for-1 Day,' when fan votes count twice. The Sky took notice and made a final push to rally fans to vote for their players, including Reese. "🏁FINAL LAP. FINAL CHANCE.🏁," the Sky wrote on X. "today is the LAST day to get Kamilla, Angel, and Ariel across that All-Star finish line 🏎️💨 AND … IT'S THE LAST DOUBLE VOTE DAY ➡️" While Reese is still performing at a high level, her numbers have taken a hit compared to last year. During her rookie season, she averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds on her way to breaking the consecutive double-doubles record. Advertisement The Sky's post also asked fans to vote for center Kamilla Cardoso and guard Ariel Atkins. Cardoso has made a jump from her rookie year in 2024, averaging 12.7 points and 6.6 rebounds. However, she will be leaving the team for a few games due to her national team obligations. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5).Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Atkins, on the other hand, has been a big pickup for Chicago. In her first year with the Sky, she is leading the team with 13.9 points per game. The Sky will take on the Valkyries at 10 p.m. ET on Friday at Chase Center. The WNBA All-Star game will take place on July 19. Related: Kelsey Plum's Behavior Toward Caitlin Clark in Fever-Sparks Game Catches Attention This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
