The Phoenix Mercury came out of the All-Star break rejuvenated.
The Chicago Sky are hoping to do the same when they visit the Mercury on Thursday night.
Both teams had a disappointing first half of the season that featured a coaching change and left them with an uphill battle to reach the playoffs.
Phoenix (5-15) got its first victory of the second half against a team with a winning record when it defeated the visiting Connecticut Sun 72-66 on Tuesday night.
All-Star center Brittney Griner scored just 12 points, but patiently passed out of double teams and finished with a team-high five assists.
The Mercury are three games behind the Sky (8-12) for the eighth and final playoff spot. Chicago has a one-game lead over the ninth-place Los Angeles Sparks.
Chicago, which hasn’t played since an 84-72 home loss to the Sun on July 12, has seen Emre Vatansever take over as interim coach/general manager and guard Rebekah Gardner and forward Isabelle Harrison suffer injuries that could be season-ending.
