Chicago Sky Offseason Update #24: And Then There Was One
Marina Mabrey becomes the last Sky player standing in the EuroLeague by punching her team's ticket to the Final Four.
To their credit, each of the four Chicago players who regularly played in the EuroLeague this season took advantage of the opportunity with at least a few standout performances. For Sika Koné, it was probably her stretch of six-consecutive games with 15-or-more points last fall that turned the most heads as the Malian showed that the success she’s had for some time in Spain would translate to the continental stage. Likewise, Robyn Parks capitalized on her biggest role with a European club to date by scoring in double-figures during 13 of 17 matches in the competition with Schio. Elizabeth Williams—a known commodity after reaching last year’s final with Mersin—was once again one of the league’s premier defensive players with her total of 26 blocks currently second best in the competition. Yet, despite all that success, just one Sky player, Marina Mabrey, will be left playing when the semifinals tip off in April—leading me nicely into this week’s biggest stories from overseas.
This Week’s Biggest Stories
1. Mabrey Leads Mersin to the EuroLeague Final Four
Despite not getting shots to fall early, Marina Mabrey delivered a decisive performance in Mersin’s winner-take-all EuroLeague quarterfinal Wednesday with 14 assists and 8 rebounds. After a tight, low-scoring opening five minutes, Mabrey and Kahleah Copper’s determination to get to the paint (or at least create the allusion that they were trying) broke the game open. Having chipped away on offense in quarter two, Mersin’s defense caught up with their scoring in the third where they outscored the visitors 21-8. Seven of Mersin’s nine made field goals in the period were in the lane, and Mabrey’s ability to absorb the pressure of Zaragoza’s double teams while finding players down low was key to their 40-20 advantage in paint scoring. In total, the strength of the Mersin offense—even as Copper gets settled—is underlined by the fact that a Zaragoza side who had not conceded more than 74 points to anyone (two games against Fener included) in the group stage gave up 79 points in Game 1 and 86 points in Game 3. Fener will be tough opponents in the Final Four, but Mersin will have to think they can pull an upset if Mabrey (16 p) can be such a decisive and creative offensive hub in the semifinal on April 12th.
2. Michaela Onyenwere Delivers in the Clutch
Onyenwere was playing well before the final twenty seconds of Saturday’s win over Emlak Konut, but she turned a good performance into a great one with her hustle on Ormanspor’s last possession of regulation. Down two with twenty seconds to go, Onyenwere helped her side corral three separate loose balls to extend the possession before sinking a putback as time expired that tied the game. In overtime, Onyenwere was back to work on the glass—opening the extra five minutes with another putback score and tying a bow on Ormanspor’s victory with a strong defensive rebound on an Emlak miss that would have tied the game late. In between those key boards, Onyenwere dominated the overtime period with her mid-range game—confidently nailing a pair of jumpers that kept her side on top. She finished with 6 of Ormanspor’s 8 points in the extra frame and 8 of their final 10 when you add the key shot at the end of regulation. Her dominance on the glass was consistent throughout—as she finished with a season best 16 boards alongside her 20 points.
3. LA Stays Hot & Reimer Bounces Back as Botaş Continue Playoff Push
After her 39-point outburst a week ago, Allen’s Botaş teammates helped lift more of the scoring burden in Sunday’s win over Tarsus—though it was still Allen who led the way with 23 points on a solid 10/18 FG. That said, her playmaking for others (7 assists) felt more impactful on the outcome as she effectively brought teammates into the game—resulting in three other starters finishing in double figures. Contrary to the last few weeks when she looked slightly out of rhythm, Reimer was also back near her best and finished with 20 points (8/13 FG) and 11 rebounds. Her mid-range game, in particular, stood out as she routinely slipped to the spots where the defense wasn’t and hit the open looks that came her way as a result. With Allen still in top form and Reimer seemingly back to her best, Botaş (12-13)—who have now built a one-game cushion to the ninth seed—can start to think about consolidating their playoff spot with just 3 regular season games left to play.
Quick Hits
Dana Evans sat out of last weekend’s league match to get much needed rest ahead of Thursday’s EuroCup semifinal first leg where she impressed with her volume (27 p) and efficiency (50/38/86) of scoring. In keeping with her high level of performance in big games, Evans added 6 assists and 3 steals—setting the tempo for Beşiktaş with her energy early and reinvigorating them late (25-7 4Q scoreline) as they built a crucial 21-point gap ahead of next week’s second leg.
Isabelle Harrison was upgraded to “active with limitations” late on Thursday morning and eventually made her season debut (4 p, 4 r, 2 a) after a bout with vertigo cost her week 1 of Athletes Unlimited. Her shots weren’t falling (2/10), but she found the spaces in the defense well with her movement. If she continues to generate the same quality of looks, more will fall in the future.
Sika Koné’s run of 5 games with 20 or fewer minutes continued, but it didn’t stop her from adding another performance to her growing MVP candidacy in Avenida’s league win over Jairis on Saturday. In eighteen-and-a-half minutes, she scored a game-high 16 points on 5/7 FG and 6/6 FT while adding 9 rebounds and a steal. Avenida’s sixth league win on the bounce moves them up to second—just a game behind leaders Valencia with 7 regular season contests left.
Robyn Parks and Schio were knocked out of the EuroLeague on Wednesday by Praha—whose synergy on the defensive end was simply too much to overcome. With so much of Schio’s offense dependent on Parks and Arella Guirantes’ ability to create for themselves and others, the Czech side focused on (and succeeded at) suffocating those two players in the half-court. The result: so-so efficiency for each of Schio’s two leading scorers, a lower quality of shots available to others and a lot of easy looks in transition for Praha (21-8 edge in fast break points).
Chennedy Carter missed Bursa’s win over Nesibe on Saturday for undisclosed reasons. The win—Bursa’s 3rd in their last 4—moves them to 9-16 on the season.
As always, you can find the best site to stream all of the different leagues the Sky players are involved in live + the full schedule of games over the coming week in this article which is updated on a regular basis.