Sky vs. Tempo: Gabriela Jaquez and Sydney Taylor Score 18 Apiece as Chicago Snaps Five-Game Skid

Losing streaks hit different in late September. There is no long-season pep talk left to fall back on, just the same film session with a new date at the top. The Chicago Sky had sat through five of those in a row, and on Tuesday night they finally got to skip one.

Gabriela Jaquez and Sydney Taylor each finished with 18 points, Kamilla Cardoso chipped in 17, and Chicago pulled away from the Toronto Tempo in the third quarter for a 97-85 win at Wintrust Arena. The result ended Chicago's five-game slide and handed Toronto its seventh straight loss in front of 8,036 fans.

A First Half That Would Not Pick a Side

For 20 minutes, this game was a coin flip that kept landing on its edge. The teams traded the lead 21 times on the night, and Toronto never led by more than four. The Tempo were up 20-18 after one quarter, and the half ended dead even at 44.

Isabelle Harrison was the reason Toronto kept pace. She piled up 17 of her 21 points before the break, living at the rim and on the offensive glass. Then the Tempo strung together an 8-0 run from the final 1:35 of the second quarter into the opening minute of the third, turning a 44-38 deficit into a 46-44 lead.

Then Chicago Hit the Gas

Toronto's lead lasted less than a minute. Starting at the 8:52 mark of the third, Chicago scored 16 consecutive points to go up 60-46 with 4:46 left in the period. The AP measured the full stretch as an 18-2 surge that ended with the Sky in front 62-48 at the 3:29 mark, and Cardoso was the hammer, scoring eight points in it.

By the end of the quarter, it was 72-55. Chicago outscored Toronto 28-11 in the period, and the Tempo spent the rest of the night chasing.

The fourth quarter brought one more Chicago push. An 8-0 run in under a minute, capped by Elizabeth Williams finishing a Courtney Vandersloot feed, made it 90-70 at 4:15. Ornella Bankole hit a 3 for Toronto, Jaquez answered with a 3 and a running layup of her own, and the lead reached 22 at 95-73.

The Sky's Balanced Attack

Jaquez was the most efficient player in the building. She went 8 of 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from deep, finishing plus-17 in 22 minutes. Taylor matched her point total in a completely different style, mixing three 3-pointers with five free throws and adding six rebounds and four assists.

Cardoso was the problem Toronto never solved. She shot 8 of 11 with seven rebounds and two blocks, and her work inside set the tone for a night when Chicago outscored Toronto 54-28 in the paint. Whenever the Tempo defense extended to chase shooters, the lane opened up like a drive-thru.

Vandersloot ran the show with 10 points, nine assists and a game-best plus-25. Williams pulled down 11 rebounds, and Jacy Sheldon chipped in 12 points off the bench. As a team, the Sky assisted on 27 of their 39 made baskets, which is what basketball looks like when nobody is playing hero ball.

Toronto's Bright Spots

Harrison finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, though she needed 22 shots to get there and made only seven. She was perfect at the line, going 6 of 6. Laura Juskaite was sharper, scoring 20 on 6-of-10 shooting with three 3-pointers and four steals, but she also had five of Toronto's turnovers.

The Tempo did a lot right on paper. They shot 13 of 26 from 3-point range, made one more 3 than Chicago did, and won the offensive glass 13-6. The problem was the giveaways: 18 total turnovers, which the Sky turned into 24 points.

Toronto did not go quietly. Down 22 with 3:04 to play, the Tempo scored eight straight, six of them from Juskaite, whose 24-foot 3 at 1:46 made it 95-81. Kate Martin answered with a short jumper, and that was that.

The Turning Point

The 16-0 run in the third quarter decided it. Toronto had just taken a 46-44 lead and had the momentum from its own 8-0 burst. Within about four minutes, Chicago had flipped a two-point deficit into a 14-point lead, and the Tempo never got back within single digits.

Stats That Matter

• 28-11: Chicago's third-quarter margin, the whole ballgame in one period.
• 54-28: The Sky's edge in paint points.
• 24-16: Points off turnovers, Chicago.
• 39 of 75: The Sky's shooting from the field, good for 52%.
• 13 of 26: Toronto from 3-point range, which kept the final respectable.

What It Means

Chicago improved to 16-27 overall and 11-11 at home. The win ended a five-game losing streak that began with a 113-90 home loss to Indiana on Aug. 23. It also kept the Sky from being swept by Toronto this season. The Tempo won the first two meetings, 111-104 in Chicago on May 27 and 85-68 at home on June 7, so they still take the season series 2-1.

For Toronto, the slide keeps getting deeper. The Tempo fell to 11-32, including 4-17 on the road, and have now lost seven straight and 19 of their last 20, per the AP. Our recount of the schedule backs it up: their only win in that 20-game stretch was an 82-79 home victory over Portland on Aug. 21.

Both teams wrap up the regular season Thursday. Toronto visits Connecticut, and Chicago plays at Washington.

Closing Take

Toronto's month has the feel of Groundhog Day: hang around for a half, lose the third quarter, wake up and run it back. Chicago, on the other hand, got a reminder of what this group looks like when the ball moves. Twenty-seven assists, 54 paint points and three players with 17 or more is not a fluke. It is a blueprint, even if it showed up a little late in the year to change much.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Additional context as reported by the Associated Press.