Scoreboard
Sky 91, Mercury 77 (Chicago leads the series 1-0)
What went down
Kahleah Copper erupted for 21 points to power the Chicago Sky to a 91-77 victory over the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals Monday (PHT) at the Footprint Center.
Copper proved unstoppable in her WNBA Finals debut, picking apart the Mercury’s defense and posting 10 rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
A WALKING BUCKET 🤐 @kahleahcopper
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 10, 2021
..but we already knew that 😏
📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/zii25rRRd3
Everything clicked for Chicago, which had all starters scoring in double-digits. Stefanie Dolson also provided quality minutes off the bench, contributing 14 points.
The Sky put together a 17-0 run towards the end of the first half to build a 13-point lead and continued dominating after the halftime break.
Phoenix’s bench made a late push to limit Chicago to just two points in the last five minutes of the game. They managed to turn a 23-point deficit to 12 with 2:23 to go, but it was a little too late for the Mercury.
Brittney Griner paced the home team with 20 points, six rebounds, and three assists, while Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi combined for 32 points.
Game 2 will be played on Wednesday at 9:00 AM (PHT).
Big-time baller
Kahleah Copper was the star of Game 1, but Courtney Vandersloot also deserves special mention. The Sky’s point guard finished with 12 points and 11 assists, setting a record for first 10+ assists with zero turnovers feat in the WNBA Finals. She also surpassed Ticha Penicheiro in the all-time assists leaderboard.
Floor General 🎯@Sloot22 has passed @TichaPenicheiro for 6th on the #WNBAFinals All-Time Assists Leaders List 👏#CountIt pic.twitter.com/jPHyLJRmo9
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 10, 2021
What she said
The Mercury just came home Friday night from Las Vegas after Game 5 of the semis, and less than 48 hours later, they returned to the court for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
When asked about the fatigue factor in between the third and fourth quarters, Taurasi did not sugarcoat her words: “We’re not tired. We’re just getting our ass kicked right now.”
"We're not tired, we're just getting our ass kicked right now."
— ESPN (@espn) October 10, 2021
Diana Taurasi kept it real.#WNBA | #WNBATwitter pic.twitter.com/Sc3gVmL8xH
Taurasi explained more in the post-game interview: “Over the last month, they're just playing at a different level, and that's what they did today. We didn't and it has nothing to do with us being tired.”
Did you see that?
The WNBA honored the league’s legends before the second quarter of Game 1.
Getting the flowers they deserve 💐
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 10, 2021
The #W25 are honored at Game 1 🧡
📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/wKLoarcHrp
Diana Taurasi was also named the WNBA GOAT as voted by the fans. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert presented Taurasi with a GOAT ball and a “Future GOAT” onesie for her newborn baby.
.@DianaTaurasi receives the GOAT ball from #WNBA Commissioner, @CathyEngelbert 🐐 pic.twitter.com/cZEdnc9PvP
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 10, 2021
