Courtney Vandersloot led the Chicago Sky to three consecutive victories last week, earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors in the process.
Vandersloot and the Sky (13-5) will try to keep the momentum going when they host the Connecticut Sun (13-6) in a Wednesday matinee.
Vandersloot averaged 19.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists last week, but her last basket was the biggest of all. She knocked down a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer Sunday to give her club an 88-85 win over Minnesota.
“We have trust in each other,” Vandersloot said. “My teammates trusted me to make a play, especially down in the clutch. … We have a lot going for us, we have a lot of playmakers.”
The Sky also recorded road victories at Las Vegas and Los Angeles last week and now own a half-game lead over Connecticut in the Eastern Conference standings.
Chicago squandered an 11-point lead in the final four minutes against the Lynx before Vandersloot came to the rescue.
“I think this was a huge week for us,” Vandersloot said. “I think it really showed what we are capable of, that we are always in a game and can finish the tight ones. Of course, we’re not stoked on how we let them back in the game. We had a lead and kind of let them back into it. We don’t want to play that way.”
Connecticut bounced back from a pair of losses with a 72-61 road win against Atlanta on Sunday. The Sun made just 2 of 20 3-point attempts and committed 20 turnovers, but survived by holding the Dream to a 33.3 field-goal percentage and winning the rebounding battle, 40-29.
“Loved our compete (level) on a night where we didn’t shoot the ball from the perimeter well,” coach Curt Miller said. “We were certainly good inside the arc, supplemented in the first half with getting to the foul line. It says something about our defense and compete that on a night we didn’t shoot well, we find a way to win.”
Chicago won the first meeting at Connecticut 83-79 on June 10 behind Emma Meesseman’s 26 points.
