Sky losing – With the Sky in free fall—sleepwalking into 12th place after a 5-game skid—player leaders are pointing to something bigger than tactics. The team’s coming week includes two winnable games against Connecticut at home and Toronto on the road, with returning play
When the Sky started the season 3-1, it felt like the league could see their momentum from the stands. In Rickea Jackson, they had a young talent asserting her stardom. With Natasha Cloud. Gabriela Jaquez. and Jacy Sheldon forming a gritty guard trio. the Sky played with a kind of scrappiness that caught even top teams off guard.
Then it changed—quietly at first, then unmistakably.
Jackson tore her ACL in Minnesota, interrupting her ascent. Jaquez missed a few games with a knee injury, breaking the chain on the perimeter. Since then. the Sky have been wavering: not knocked out completely. but dropping games to less-talented teams and struggling to turn opportunities into results.
The skid has grown into something sharper. The Sky have lost five straight and sleepwalked to 12th place in the standings. Guard Sydney Taylor. a bright spot through the downturn. called out what she sees as a distraction after a loss to the lowly Mystics. She said they were too focused on the officials to take advantage of opportunities on the floor—an issue that. as she framed it. even strong teams can fall into.
For Maddy Westbeld. the Sky’s story isn’t just about what happens on the court—it’s about how players manage what comes up inside before the game begins. When she was a junior at Notre Dame. she started working with a mind coach who steered her toward the importance of being centered and present. Meditation became a morning practice. Still half asleep, she’d make her coffee and then sit down to meditate.
She described the routine as waiting until she could feel her heartbeat. then centering on the question: “how do I feel. how am I feeling right now.” That’s when. she said. “things would come to the surface. different conversations. different stresses. different joys. ” and she learned to allow that awareness to move through her rather than stay buried.
She’s kept the practice going since then. Lately, wrestling impatience from a foot injury, she’s been reading scripture as well. She always prays beforehand, because she believes she can’t absorb what she’s trying to learn if she isn’t in touch with her spirit first.
That idea—getting your spirit involved—has landed with extra weight for the Sky now. The team knows what needs to change tactically. They need to crash the boards better. They need to sink 3-point shots. They need to take care of the ball. But the argument inside the program is that none of it fully matters until the distractions get cleared and the focus becomes intentional.
Last season, the Aces shocked people by falling out of playoff contention in July. But they still managed to rampage through the regular season, winning 16 straight and claiming their third championship in four years. Their turnaround was often tied to challenges issued by leaders: the group text MVP A’ja Wilson sent after a horrible loss telling teammates that if they weren’t embarrassed with their performance. to not show up the next day; and the film sessions where coach Becky Hammon demanded they “look in the mirror.”.
There was another moment, too—a players’ meeting where everyone expressed what they were really thinking and feeling, what really mattered to them. Everyone got vulnerable. The point of that kind of honesty isn’t effortless, but it can build spirit, which can then lead to a sharper level of focus.
For the Sky, the next stretch offers a chance to prove they can interrupt the slide. They have two winnable games this week: a home matchup against Connecticut and an away game on the road in Toronto.
One of the biggest immediate questions is who can help them steady the lineup. Jaquez returned to practice Thursday and is listed as questionable for Friday’s game. Point guard Courtney Vandersloot also returned to practice fully for the first time this season.
And even with the tactical checklists ready, the emphasis from inside the team keeps circling back to the same thing: before execution can be trusted, players have to be fully present—so the next game doesn’t start with the mind drifting back to officials, injuries, and frustration.
Chicago Sky Rickea Jackson Natasha Cloud Gabriela Jaquez Jacy Sheldon Sydney Taylor Maddy Westbeld Courtney Vandersloot ACL injury knee injury Connecticut game Toronto game WNBA season