Sun vs. Sky: Aaliyah Edwards Scores a Career-High 26 as Connecticut Holds Off Chicago's Late Rally

Aaliyah Edwards picked a fine night to find a new ceiling, and the Connecticut Sun needed every inch of it.

Edwards poured in a career-best 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, Diamond Miller chipped in 21, and Connecticut survived a furious fourth-quarter charge to beat the Chicago Sky 87-81 on Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. Connecticut led by 20 early in the fourth, watched it shrink to three in the final minutes, and then got the biggest defensive play of the night from the same player who had been carrying the offense.

A First Half That Belonged to Connecticut

Chicago's offense spent the first 20 minutes stuck in airplane mode. The Sky scored eight points in the first quarter, went 0 of 12 from 3-point range in the first half according to the AP, and shot 33% overall before the break. Connecticut broke a 6-6 tie with eight straight points and led 16-8 after one.

The Sun kept stacking. Edwards, Kennedy Burke and Miller did the heavy lifting, and the AP pointed out that those three starters combined for 36 first-half points, seven more than the entire Sky roster. Connecticut led 44-29 at the half, and an 11-0 run that bridged the intermission pushed it to 47-29.

The third quarter was more of the same. Miller knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, Edwards kept piling up points, and the Sun took a 71-53 lead into the fourth. When they stretched it to 78-58 early in the final period, the remaining drama seemed limited to whether Edwards would clear her career best.

Chicago's guards had a rough go of it from the perimeter. Sydney Taylor went 2 of 11 from the field and 0 of 6 from deep, and Rachel Banham hit only one of her five attempts from 3-point range. Kamilla Cardoso kept the Sky within shouting distance by bullying her way to the line, but a team that cannot make a 3 in a half usually cannot win on the road.

Then Chicago Remembered It Had a Fourth Quarter

The Sky came out swinging. A 9-0 burst sliced an 80-62 deficit to 80-71, and after a pair of Charlisse Leger-Walker free throws, Chicago reeled off eight more in a row. Azura Stevens hit a 3, Gabriela Jaquez finished a layup, and Courtney Vandersloot drained a 25-footer with 2:20 left. All told, the Sky had run off 21 points to Connecticut's four, and a sleepy blowout was suddenly an 82-79 nail-biter.

The Turning Point: Edwards on Both Ends

With the building tightening up, Miller made two free throws with 1:52 left for an 84-79 lead. On Chicago's next push, Edwards came up with a block and then scored on a layup at the other end, assisted by Leger-Walker, to make it 86-79 with 1:29 to go. Stevens scored once more, but Burke's free throw with 57 seconds left closed the scoring. Without that Edwards sequence, this is a very different recap.

Edwards Raises the Bar

Edwards was a problem all night. She shot 11 of 16 from the field and 4 of 6 at the line in 27 minutes, and the AP noted that her 26 points topped a previous best of 24. She added a block, and her 10 rebounds included nine on the defensive end.

Miller was the perfect sidekick, shooting 4 of 5 from deep and 5 of 6 at the line for 21 points. Burke scored 19 and swiped five steals, and Saniya Rivers chipped in seven points and five assists. Leger-Walker struggled with her shot, going 1 of 9, but still distributed seven assists.

The Sun did all of it shorthanded. Brittney Griner sat out with a left knee issue and Olivia Nelson-Ododa with a right knee issue, according to the AP.

Chicago had its own injury headaches. Natasha Cloud, a starter, logged 16 first-half minutes before a right knee injury kept her out, and DiJonai Carrington logged four minutes before a foot injury sidelined her, so Chicago spent the second half without two of its guards, per the AP.

Kamilla Cardoso was outstanding for Chicago with 24 points and 13 rebounds, going a perfect 10 of 10 at the free-throw line. The AP said it was her 14th double-double this season. Stevens added 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

The night also belonged a little bit to Vandersloot. She dished nine assists, scored eight points and, per the AP, joined a club of exactly two: she is the second player in WNBA history with 3,000 career assists, and she got there with the highest average per game. That is the kind of milestone that deserves a better ending than a road loss, but history does not wait for the final buzzer.

Stats That Matter

• 26 and 10. Edwards' career night on 11-of-16 shooting.
• 0 of 12. Chicago's first-half 3-point shooting, the hole it could never fully escape.
• 20 of 27 at the line. Connecticut's free throws kept it afloat while Chicago charged back.
• 21-4. The Sky's fourth-quarter surge that turned a laugher into a sweat.
• 13 to 6. Connecticut's edge in fast-break points.

What It Means

Connecticut improved to 10-27, including 7-12 at home, and snapped a two-game losing streak. The win also evened the season series with Chicago at 2-2. The Sun beat the Sky 92-63 at home in June, while Chicago won 85-80 in June and 94-88 in July, both in Chicago. The Sun's own recap described Tuesday's result as the franchise's last win ever against the Sky.

Chicago fell to 15-24 and 5-14 on the road. After a three-game winning streak, the Sky have now lost two in a row.

Chicago visits New York on Saturday. Connecticut stays home to host Golden State on Wednesday.

Final Word

Edwards' night played out like the final round of a baking competition: three quarters of flawless prep, a near-collapse with the timer ticking down, and then a last-second save, a block and a bucket, that won over the judges. Career highs are nice. Career highs that also save the game are the ones you remember.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Injury notes and milestones as reported by the Associated Press. Additional notes from the Connecticut Sun.