Chicago decided to establish Cardoso early in the first quarter and then again in the second getting her looks in single coverage on the block and then having her score at the rim on pick-and-roll actions. She was the most reliable source of offense for the Sky before the game got completely out of hand in the third quarter. She hit a 17-foot right corner jumper in the second quarter, which begs the question can Cardoso continue to grow when it comes to spacing the floor? The more and more she can stretch, even if it’s not out at the three-point line, will help the Sky get easier looks inside from other players.

Whitcomb feasted on the separation she got from screens and dribble handoffs from Alyssa Thomas. She was responsible for five of the Mercury’s 17 total three-pointers in Chicago on Saturday afternoon. Most of her made threes came using that separation along with the Sky’s defense taking their attention off of her on the wing when the ball was in Thomas’ hands. While most of Whitcomb’s points came in the first half, she also distributed the ball, finding Thomas on the run right at the rim for a couple of scores.

Point guard Jefferson has been battling an injury this entire season as the only game she’s played was on May 10 in the preseason when she played in 7 minutes against the Lynx. Since Courtney Vandersloot has been out with a torn ACL, the Sky have played more of Ariel Atkins at the point guard spot along with Rachel Banham and Hailey Van Lith.

Held did not travel with the Mercury to Chicago after injuring her rib in the middle of third quarter on Thursday night in New York against the Liberty. Held got injured fighting for the ball on the ground with Liberty forward Breanna Stewart. Held’s production will be supplemented by having Kahleah Copper back in the startling lineup along with more minutes from shooters in Kitija Laksa, Sami Whitcomb and Monique Akoa Makani.

Griner was questionable to play on Friday night due to an illness, but ended up playing anyway. She got on the boards leading the Dream with seven on an evening when crashing the glass was tough for the Dream to come by, as they got out-rebounded by the Mystics 33-24. Griner also hit double-digit scoring for the fifth time this season in 11 games. The 11-year veteran is still trying to figure out how to pick her spots on a team where the top options are the Dream’s perimeter players in Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard. She is also figuring out sharing minutes at the center spot with Brionna Jones when head coach Karl Smesko opts to play with a smaller player at the power forward spot.

Back in the lineup after missing two games due to the league’s concussion protocols, Wilson made up for lost time with a robust stat line. All that was missing was a three-pointer, but with a career average of 0.3 triples per game, fantasy managers and WNBA fans understand that this is not part of Wilson’s repertoire. The seven turnovers committed against the Storm may have been a sign of A’ja being somewhat rusty in her first game back, but that isn’t a scoring category in standard ESPN leagues. Tiffany Mitchell, who started on Sunday against the Mercury, only played 10 minutes on Friday and was scoreless on two shot attempts.

Gray, the Dream’s leading scorer, started the night rough only scoring 5 points and hitting one field goal on six shots. As a result the Dream’s role players in Naz Hillmon, Nia Coffey and Te-Hina PaoPao all stepped up. But after halftime Gray returned to form, shooting 5-for-9 in the second half while scoring 13 points. Gray stepped up on the defensive end as well, blocking Brittney Sykes from behind with 44.6 remaining in regulation. While Gray’s aggression fueled Atlanta down the stretch, her judgement lacked when she fouled Sykes from beyond the arc while in a shooting motion, which and gave the Mystics the opportunity to tie the game up at 92. Sykes ended up missing the second free throw and the Dream squeaked by with a win.

While Aces star A’ja Wilson garnered most of the attention in her return from a concussion, Ogwumike more than held her own on Friday. The veteran forward recorded a complete stat line and was once again highly efficient, shooting well over 50 percent from the field in her 34 minutes on the court. Over her last two games, Ogwumike has tallied 51 points, shooting 23-of-32 from the field. From a fantasy standpoint, Nneka’s 49 points in ESPN leagues matched her season-high, and she has four games with at least 40 fantasy points this season.

Austin was a matchup nightmare for all of the Dream’s front court players. She’s more athletic than both Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones, but then she’s also so much taller and longer than both Nia Coffey and Naz Hillmon. Brittney Sykes and Austin’s chemistry came alive on Friday night as the pair connected on six total field goals. Austin showed off her face-up game and mid-range jumper as she was able to use her long arms to over extend over smaller defenders. Austin’s 28 points are a new career high and her 10 rebounds make this performance her first double-double of the season.