{"id":798094,"date":"2026-05-15T11:47:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/798094\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T11:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:47:25","slug":"defensive-focused-sky-bring-unbeaten-record-to-phoenix-field-level-media-professional-sports-content-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/798094\/","title":{"rendered":"Defensive-focused Sky bring unbeaten record to Phoenix – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago Sky coach Tyler Marsh addressed a lively locker room after his team forced the Golden State Valkyries into 29.3% shooting during a win at San Francisco on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we play defense like that,\u201d he said, \u201cwe can compete with anyone, anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chicago (2-0) will aim to channel that intensity again on Friday as a season-opening, four-game road trip continues with a visit to the Phoenix Mercury.<\/p>\n

Backed by double-digit scoring efforts from Rickea Jackson (18 points), Sklar Diggins (15) and Jacy Sheldon (12), the Sky defeated the Valkyries 69-63.<\/p>\n

Acquired in an April trade with the Los Angeles Sparks, Jackson is averaging a team-best 18.5 points through two games, narrowly ahead of fellow offseason acquisition Skylar Diggins (18.0).<\/p>\n

\u201cRough shooting in the first half, but you stuck with it,\u201d Marsh told Jackson on Wednesday. \u201cWe kept giving you the rock and you took us home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phoenix (1-2) is coming off an 88-84 loss to the Minnesota Lynx in its home opener on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

After thumping defending WNBA champion Las Vegas by 33 points on Saturday in a Finals rematch, the Mercury have lost back-to-back games.<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s Nia Coffey swished a 3-pointer with 25.6 seconds left to create a four-point cushion. The Mercury slumped to 31.6% shooting in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like our offense is a little choppy and we let that affect our defense,\u201d Phoenix forward DeWanna Bonner said, \u201cand that\u2019s what you can\u2019t do, no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, bright spots remain. Kahleah Copper scored a game-high 30 points against the Lynx while Bonner (16) and Alyssa Thomas (10) added to the attack.<\/p>\n

Copper is confident the team will regain its stride quickly as various players reacclimate after competing overseas. Among them: point guard Monique Akoa Makani, who is finishing a commitment in France as her team, Bourges, plays for its league championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still learning each other,\u201d Copper said. \u201cPeople are still learning the plays. Some of us only had three practices. It\u2019s just been tough, but we\u2019re going to figure it out. There\u2019s nothing more to say. We\u2019re going to figure it out. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chicago Sky coach Tyler Marsh addressed a lively locker room after his team forced the Golden State Valkyries…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":798095,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-798094","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-phoenix","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116578435083618564","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/798095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}