Rosemont, Ill. – Friday night was a night that Tiffany Hayes could not be stopped as she scored 23 points to lead the Atlanta Dream past the Chicago Sky, 91-83.
It was Chicago’s first  home opener loss since 2012, and it was the first meeting between the two teams this year. The Sky were responsible for ending the Dream’s 2016 season with a 108-98 victory in the second round of the WNBA Playoffs.
Friday’s contest proved to be a tightly-contested game, as the score was tied at 43 going into halftime. The difference was the 14-4 run the Dream went on right at the midpoint mark of the fourth quarter.
Cappie Pondexter paced the Sky with a 22 point and seven assist performance, putting in a solid performance as she played the point guard spot in the absence of Courtney Vandersloot, who is just returning from overseas play.
Although this is Chicago’s second loss in as many games, first-year coach Amber Stocks said building a team is a process.
“Thirty-four games are quite a few games, and we have 32 still ahead of us,” she said. “Consistency wins in this league, and there are going to be ups and downs, highs and lows. Iff we continue to apply the pillars of our defense and are consistent with that, then the results will take care of themselves.”
The Sky hit the road to face Atlanta again on Sunday.