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Chicago Sky forward Elena Delle Donne took a shot at improvisation Wednesday night. Also a shot at the Phoenix Mercury basket with the game tied. With 5.8 seconds left in regulation in the WNBA game at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., guard Epiphanny Prince inbounded the ball to Delle Donne and waited for her to pass the ball back to her. And waited. And waited.
Elena Delle Donne’s game-winner. Credit: Rick Welton / HomeLand Sports
“Actually the play wasn’t for Elena, it was for Piph,” Sky center Sylvia Fowles said. “And they must have known that the ball was going to Piph. They kind of left Elena alone so the time started winding down so she had to make a move.”
Indeed she did (as you will see in the photo to the right and in the video below). Delle Donne beat the buzzer and the Mercury with a jumper that floated through the net for a 70-68 victory.
“It’s a great feeling,” the rookie from Delaware said. “And to be able to celebrate with the teammates I love is even better. So it was a really fun game. And you know, you love to celebrate with your family.”
“That’s a great player making a great shot,” Phoenix coach Russ Pennell said. “We had our hand in her face, and it wasn’t any secret where the ball was going. That’s why she’s going to be the Rookie of the Year and one of the great players in this league for a long time. Heck of a shot. Heck of a player.”
“It was nice to grind out a win, and that’s what we told the players,” Sky coach Pokey Chatman said. “Obviously, we will go back and analyze the tape and break some things down, but it’s nice to have some high-quality play going into the playoffs, some situational stuff, not calling timeouts, calling timeouts, whose hands you want the ball to be in — things of that nature. But also bottom line, you want to do it all with a win.”
After trailing 40-36 at halftime and 60-55 after three quarters, the Sky used a 15-8 fourth quarter to improve to 23-9.
“I thought Phoenix battled,” Chatman said. “They were killing us in the paint. I think it was 18-10 points at the half. I think we finally got the defense going. We got some deflections and steals and held them to eight points in the fourth quarter. I talk to you all the time, wanting to be more consistent defensively. You don’t accidently hold somebody to eight points, I think that’s a mindset, and I think that’s something we’ve got to string together, more minutes of that and trust that the offense is going to come.”
The Sky held Phoenix (18-14) to 4-of-15 shooting in the fourth quarter. Delle Donne (18 points overall) had four points in the fourth with Fowles, Prince and Courtney Vandersloot each adding three and Swin Cash two.
Prince led the Sky with 21 points. Fowles added 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Brittney Griner, the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick for this season, had six points and three rebounds for the Mercury. She was 2-of-10 from the field. Candice Dupree led Phoenix with 15 points.
“My shots weren’t falling that I normally make,” Griner said. “I wouldn’t say that I didn’t want to score, but I wasn’t helping offensively so I had to do something. I relied on my defense, blocking shots and getting boards, rebounding. I tried to do something to help out.”
These lovely ladies from the Chicago Luvabulls were at the Sky-Mercury game.
Some postgame video as well as some of the Chicago Luvabulls performing — plus a reminder that Sky coach Pokey Chatman will be on the Sept. 12 edition of “Sports & Torts” that airs at noon Central time on Talkzone.com. Co-hosts David Spada and Elliott Harris also have an interview with Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Mel Renfro, who starred for the Dallas Cowboys. The program will be available later in the day on podcast at Talkzone.com.
Here is where to go for a daily dose of non-gratuitous video (thanks to the excellent efforts of the editorial and video departments at elliottharris.com (and their generous definition of “gratuitous”):
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