# 2016 Chicago Sky season

The 2016 Chicago Sky season was the franchise's 11th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The season began on May 14th, at home against the Connecticut Sun.
The Sky began the season with a win, but could not sustain that momentum and lost their next four games. They finished May with a win and extended their streak with three wins to start June. However, they only won one of their final five games in June to finish the first two months of the season with a 6–9 record. The Sky split a home and away matchup with Washington to begin July and lost two of their next three. The won three of their last four to end the month with a 5–4 record. The Sky came out of the Olympic break strongly, winning both their games in August and their first two in September. They lost their next two, before winning three in a row. They could not overcome Seattle on the final day of the season and finished with an 18–16 regular season record.
Their record was good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference and the fourth overall seed in the 2016 WNBA Playoffs. They earned a bye into the Second Round where they defeated sixth-seed Atlanta 108–98 and advanced to the Semfinals. There they matched-up against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks defeated the Sky 3 games to 1 and would go on to finish as WNBA Champions.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
| 1 | 10 | Imani Boyette | United States | Texas |
| 3 | 34 | Jordan Jones | United States | Texas A&M |

### Trades and Roster Changes

| Date | Transaction |
| January 7, 2016 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Jessica Breland, Clarissa dos Santos, and Jacki Gemelos |
| January 7, 2016 | Exercised 4th-Year Team Option on Jamierra Faulkner |
| February 9, 2016 | Signed Jessica Breland |
| February 11, 2016 | Signed Clarissa dos Santos to a training-camp contract |
| March 7, 2016 | Signed Yvonne Turner, Jacki Gemelos, and Shanece McKinney to training-camp contracts |
| April 21, 2016 | Signed Imani McGee-Stafford and Jordan Jones to rookie-scale contracts |
| April 21, 2016 | Signed Maggie Lyon to a training-camp contract |
| April 28, 2016 | Waived Maggie Lyon |
| May 6, 2016 | Waived Jacki Gemelos and Jordan Jones |
| May 11, 2016 | Waived Shanece McKinney |
| May 12, 2016 | Waived Yvonne Turner |

## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| C | Erika de Souza | Imani McGee-Stafford Clarissa dos Santos |
| PF | Elena Delle Donne | Jessica Breland Cheyenne Parker |
| SF | Tamera Young | Betnijah Laney |
| SG | Cappie Pondexter | Allie Quigley |
| PG | Courtney Vandersloot | Jamierra Faulkner |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2016 pre-season game log :
May: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1May 1New YorkW 93–59Elena Delle Donne (17)Betnijah Laney (7)Courtney Vandersloot (4)Bob Carpenter Center 3,4321–0
2May 4ConnecticutL 84–81Elena Delle Donne (13)Jessica Breland (6)Jamierra Faulkner (5)Mohegan Sun Arena 4,2071–1
3May 5AtlantaW 95–75Betnijah Laney (14)Cheyenne Parker (5)Courtney Vandersloot (6)Mohegan Sun Arena 4,0252–1 :
2016 pre-season schedule :

### Regular Season

2016 game log Total: 18–16 (Home: 11–6; Road: 7–10) :
May: 2–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1May 14ConnecticutW 93–70Vandersloot (14)Breland (9)Vandersloot (7)Allstate Arena 6,7191–0
2May 18MinnesotaL 80–97Delle Donne (28)Delle Donne Young (6)Vandersloot (11)Allstate Arena 5,0341–1
3May 22@ AtlantaL 81–87Pondexter (17)Breland (10)Pondexter (5)Philips Arena 6,1521–2
4May 24Los AngelesW 80–93Faulkner 17Breland Young (9)Faulkner (10)Allstate Arena 5,5541–3
5May 27@ San AntonioL 78–79Delle Donne (27)de Souza Delle Donne (9)Faulkner (11)AT&T Center 5,2101–4
6May 29@ DallasW 92–87Pondexter (18)Boyette (8)Faulkner (9)College Park Center 5,2972–4 :
June: 4–5 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
7June 1 6:00 PM@ WashingtonW 86–78Delle Donne (18)Delle Donne (9)Vandersloot (8)Verizon Center 5,6493–4
8June 3 7:30 PMWashingtonW 98–72Delle Donne (18)de Souza (7)Faulkner (9)Allstate Arena 5,4894–4
9June 10 6:00 PM@ IndianaW 73–64Boyette (16)Boyette (12)Vandersloot (6)Bankers Life Fieldhouse 7,5335–4
10June 12 5:00 PM@ PhoenixL 80–86Delle Donne (18)de Souza (7)de Souza, Faulkner (3)Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,0555–5
11June 14 9:30 PM@ Los AngelesL 85–98Pondexter (20)de Souza (12)Pondexter (5)Staples Center 7,3485–6
12June 17 6:30 PM@ AtlantaL 97–101 OTDelle Donne (26)de Souza (8)Vandersloot, Pondexter, Faulkner (5)Philips Arena 4,5605–7
13June 21 7:00 PMSan AntonioW 81–75Delle Donne (23)Young (9)Faulkner, Young, Delle Donne (3)Allstate Arena 5,7446–7
14June 24 6:30 PM@ New YorkL79–80Delle Donne (31)Delle Donne (8)Vandersloot (5)Madison Square Garden 10,1206–8
15June 29 11:30 AMIndianaL 83–95Delle Donne (21)Delle Donne (6)Pondexter (6)Allstate Arena 11,8926–9 :
July: 5–4 (Home: 3–3; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
16July 1 6:00 PMWashingtonW 86–84 OTDelle Donne (28)Delle Donne (11)Vandersloot (5)Allstate Arena 5,3207–9
17July 5 7:30 PM@ WashingtonL 82–87Delle Donne (38)Delle Donne (10)Faulkner (7)Target Center 7,4337–10
18July 8 7:30 PMNew YorkL 85–88Quigley (29)Delle Donne (7)Faulkner (5)Allstate Arena 5,6337–11
19July 10 6:00 PMPhoenixW 100–95Quigley (21)Boyette (13)Vandersloot, Faulkner (7)Allstate Arena 7,0218–11
20July 13 5:00 PMLos AngelesL 67–77Delle Donne (15)Boyette (7)Vandersloot, Faulkner (5)Allstate Arena 16,4448–12
21July 14 9:30 PMLos AngelesW 84–77Delle Donne (24)Boyette (8)Faulkner (6)Allstate Arena 6,0129–12
22July 17 6:30 PM@ SeattleW 91–88Delle Donne (35)Delle Donne (11)Faulkner (4)KeyArena10–12
23July 19 7:00 PM@ PhoenixL 77–79Delle Donne (18)Boyette (10)Vandersloot (3)Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,31811–12
24July 22 6:30 PMConnecticutL 89–94Delle Donne (20)Breland (8)Vandersloot (6)Allstate Arena 6,89311–13 :
August: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
25August 26 11:30 AMAtlantaW 90–82Delle Donne (34)Boyette (9)Delle Donne, Pondexter (5)Allstate Arena 6,01612–13
26August 28 11:30 AM@ DallasW 92–85Delle Donne (18)Delle Donne (9)Vandersloot (9)College Park Center 5,65113–13 :
September: 5–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
27September 2 11:30 AMSeattleW 92–88Young (24)Breland (10)Vandersloot, Pondexter (5)Allstate Arena 5,99714–13
28September 4 11:30 AMSan AntonioW 97–73Delle Donne (35)Boyette (7)Vandersloot, Pondexter 5Allstate Arena 6,03415–13
29September 7 6:00 PM@ WashingtonL 81–118Vandersloot (17)Boyette (7)Vandersloot (8)Verizon Center 5,37315–14
30September 9 5:00 PM@ Los AngelesL 88–95Pondexter (22)Breland (9)Vandersloot (4)Bankers Life Fieldhouse 10,53315–15
31September 11 9:30 PM@ Los AngelesW 96–86Pondexter (24)Breland (10)Pondexter (5)Mohegan Sun Arena 6,62016–15
32September 13 6:30 PMMinnesotaW 98–97 OTPondexter (24)de Souza (11)Pondexter (4)Allstate Arena 6,05017–15
33September 16 7:00 PMNew YorkW 92–68Young (22)Young (9)Faulkner (11)Allstate Arena 7,92518–15
34September 18 6:30 PM@ SeattleL 75–88Faulkner, Breland (14)Boyette, de Souza (6)Faulkner (7)KeyArena 12,18618–16 :
2016 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2016 playoff game log :
Second Round vs. Atlanta Dream Won Series: 1–0
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 25
Atlanta
W 108–98
Vandersloot (21)
Breland (16)
Vandersloot (13)
Allstate Arena 3,922
1–0 :
Semifinals vs. Los Angeles Sparks Lost Series: 1–3
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 28
@ Los Angeles
L 75–95
Faulkner (13)
Breland (7)
Vandersloot (5)
Walter Pyramid 3,894
0–1
2
September 30
@ Los Angeles
L 84–99
dos Santos (15)
Breland (9)
Quigley (5)
Staples Center 7,855
0–2
3
October 2
Los Angeles
W 70–66
Vandersloot (17)
McGee-Stafford (11)
Faulkner, Vandersloot (5)
Allstate Arena 5,018
1–2
4
October 4
Los Angeles
L 75–95
Pondexter (19)
McGee-Stafford (10)
Young (6)
Allstate Arena 3,841
1–3 :
2016 playoff schedule :

### Standings

| Eastern Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| 3 - New York Liberty | 21 | 13 | .618 | — | 10–7 | 11–6 | 11–5 |
| 4 - Chicago Sky | 18 | 16 | .529 | 3 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 8–8 |
| 5 - Indiana Fever | 17 | 17 | .500 | 4 | 8–9 | 9–8 | 8–8 |
| 6 - Atlanta Dream | 17 | 17 | .500 | 4 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 9–7 |
| e - Connecticut Sun | 14 | 20 | .412 | 7 | 8–9 | 6–11 | 4–12 |
| e - Washington Mystics | 13 | 21 | .382 | 8 | 5–12 | 8–9 | 8–8 |
Notes
    # – Playoff seed
    e – Eliminated from playoffs

## Playoffs

The Sky's 18–16 regular season record was good for second in the Eastern Conference and fourth overall in the WNBA. This standing led to Chicago being seeded fourth and being granted an automatic bye from the first of two single elimination rounds. In the second single elimination round, the Sky drew sixth-seeded Atlanta, defeating the Dream 108–98 and advancing to the best-of-five semifinal round. The Sky fell to second-seeded Los Angeles in the semifinals, losing in four games.
| First round: Single elimination (Sept. 21) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 21) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 21) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) |
| | | | | | | 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 113 | 96 | 82 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | New York Liberty | 94 | 8 | Phoenix Mercury | Phoenix Mercury | 95 | 86 | 67 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Indiana Fever | 78 | 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 101 | | | | | | | 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 76 | 79 | 75 | 85 | 76 |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 89 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 78 | 60 | 92 | 79 | 77 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 95 | 99 | 66 | 95 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Chicago Sky | 108 | 4 | Chicago Sky | 75 | 84 | 70 | 75 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Atlanta Dream | 94 | 6 | Atlanta Dream | 98 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Seattle Storm | 85 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Elena Delle Donne | 28 | 28 | 33.1 | 48.5% | 42.6% | 93.5% | 7.0 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 21.5 |
| Cappie Pondexter | 33 | 29 | 27.4 | 42.9% | 36.2% | 88.2% | 2.8 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 12.9 |
| Tamera Young | 32 | 20 | 25.8 | 45.0% | 0.0% | 79.0% | 4.5 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 8.5 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | 30 | 21 | 24.3 | 41.9% | 35.1% | 90.4% | 2.7 | 4.7 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 9.5 |
| Jamierra Faulkner | 34 | 14 | 19.3 | 42.5% | 33.3% | 76.9% | 1.5 | 4.6 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 7.8 |
| Imani McGee-Stafford | 31 | 16 | 18.9 | 55.4% | — | 66.0% | 5.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 6.7 |
| Allie Quigley | 34 | 0 | 17.8 | 47.1% | 36.6% | 89.5% | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 9.5 |
| Jessica Breland | 34 | 16 | 17.2 | 49.4% | — | 79.5% | 4.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 6.0 |
| Érika de Souza | 31 | 18 | 16.6 | 51.7% | — | 75.0% | 5.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 5.8 |
| Cheyenne Parker | 25 | 7 | 12.6 | 50.6% | 0.0% | 53.1% | 3.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.0 |
| Clarissa dos Santos | 20 | 0 | 9.4 | 33.9% | 0.0% | 85.0% | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.9 |
| Betnijah Laney | 8 | 1 | 5.3 | 16.7% | 0.0% | 100% | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.0 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Elena Delle Donne | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | July 18, 2016 |
| Elena Delle Donne | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | September 6, 2016 |
| Imani McGee-Stafford | WNBA All-Rookie Team | September 2016 |
| Elena Delle Donne | WNBA All-WNBA First Team | September 2016 |