UNCASVILLE, Conn. — James Wade launched himself toward his bench in the -final minutes of the Chicago Sky’s Game 3 semifinals matchup against the Connecticut Sun.
“Left! Left!” he yelled to his training staff gesturing to his left eye as he ran towards them.
On the court, Kahleah Copper stood at the free-throw line. She had just drawn a foul on Natisha Hiedeman, taking advantage of a mismatch off a switch but she lost her left contact in the process. She let Wade know, subtly signaling to her left eye as she walked to the stripe.
But before the Sky could get her a replacement, the official handed her the ball.
With her vision blurred, Copper sent her first attempt up — swish. She converted her second attempt, too, extending the Sky’s lead to four with 1:27 left in the game. That single moment told the entire story of the game, that the Sky had the mental toughness to outlast the Sun en route to a 76-72 victory.
“One thing we pride ourselves on is playing together through adversity,” Wade said.
Mohegan Sun Arena was under a blanket of white T-shirts when the visiting Sky walked into the arena. It was a premonition of the energy that awaited them when the ball was tipped. And just as expected, the 9,142 fans in attendance were deafening.
It made little difference to the Sky as they took a 2-1 edge going into Tuesday’s Game 4 of this best-of-five series.
According to Wade, the mental approach is what sets the really good players and teams apart from the legends and there’s a process for developing a strong mental game. It takes years, and multiple experiences both good and bad.
His team is anchored by three veterans in Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley. They have gone through the fire over the course of their careers to establish a different level of poise in the face of adversity. The rest of Wade’s team has benefited from their example and established their own mental grit in the process.
On Sunday, that resolute mentality was on full display.
Parker led her team for the third consecutive game, finishing with a double-double (16 points and 11 rebounds) to go with four assists, three blocks and two steals. It was her 27th career playoff double-double, tying Tamika Catchings for most in WNBA history.
Copper was right behind with 15 points and Emma Meesseman added 13, plus six rebounds, five steals and one block.
“We knew Game 3 was going to be a grind,” Parker said. “We try to evolve and adjust to the circumstance. When we’re able to do that we come out on top.”
