Chicago is riding a four-game skid after Rickea Jackson tore her ACL, and the latest loss to the Lynx left a familiar question: will rookie Sydney Taylor get the minutes to carry the offense until the Sky are healthy?
Friday night at Wintrust Arena started with a simple problem for the Sky: the offense couldn’t find traction. Chicago fell 79-58 to the Lynx, and the scoreline landed in the middle of a rough stretch. The Sky have dropped four games in a row since losing leading scorer Rickea Jackson to a season-ending torn ACL.
Sydney Taylor did give them a reminder of what she can do off the bench—just not enough, at least not yet. After erupting for a team-high 27 points Wednesday against the Tempo, Taylor played only eight minutes in the first half against the Lynx.
Coach Tyler Marsh. standing in the gap where Jackson’s production used to be. didn’t sound ready to hand Taylor the full answer. He said he believes Taylor can be “an answer ‘to some degree’” for the loss of Jackson. but that she is “still learning to play within his system” and that there’s “more to the equation than just scoring.”.
Marsh framed it as a two-way job for a team trying to replace a player who did more than rack up points. “Rickea is tough shoes to fill for anyone,” he said. “We’ve got to make that up in all areas where we can, on both ends of the floor.”
The Sky have been a defense-first team. and Friday’s game offered an example of why Marsh might be cautious about overloading the rotation. He noted the Lynx, league-leading in their offense, were limited to fewer than 80 points. That defensive identity helps explain why a “microwave scorer” may not automatically become the priority in the way Marsh manages minutes.
Still, the season reality for Chicago is that nobody can fully replace Jackson on demand. What the Sky do need is a more creative offense while they wait to be fully healthy—and against the Lynx. their usual weapons didn’t get going early. Kamilla Cardoso, Azura Stevens, and Natasha Cloud all failed to find a rhythm at the start. The Sky’s passing looked sloppy, and they connected on only five of their 30 three-pointers.
That’s where Taylor’s style could matter. She can change the look of a possession. with a “filthy crossover” and a jumper described as so smooth it can draw admiration before it even hits the rim. Most importantly, Taylor attacks with purpose on a team Marsh has said passes up too many shots. When she’s on the floor, she’s “always hunting for hers,” and that matters when an offense is stuck.
The impact was clear enough that Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve noticed her—so much so that she used a stat to motivate her own players to defend her. Reeve told her group that Taylor had taken 22 shots in 23 minutes against the Tempo.
“She has a real knack for putting the ball in the hole,” Reeve said. “She’s unafraid. She can change a game.” Then she described how defense looks before and after Taylor checks in. “You talk about her, [but] it’s completely different when all of a sudden you get her on the court. You think you’re near her, and she’s shooting it.”.
Taylor, for her part, has leaned into being relatively unfamiliar in the WNBA. She previously played professionally in Poland before the Sky picked her up, and she said that playing with less scouting pressure has been a “perk of being a rookie.”
“That’s a perk of being a rookie: They’re not too familiar with my game,” she said at the shootaround Friday morning. “They were three, four or five feet off of me. I’m not used to that.”
Against the Lynx, the adjustments came quickly. Taylor took only two shots in the first half before getting her first basket in the third quarter. She finished with seven points and four assists in 19 minutes.
Even after a productive stretch later in the game, Taylor acknowledged what Marsh is trying to manage: the details of fitting into a new system.
Overall. she said she is still learning how to match her game to Marsh’s offense and understand what he wants from her. “I’m used to being a heavy-scoring guard overseas. so [I’m] still trying to find that balance over here. ” Taylor said. “I can score the ball at all levels. but [it’s] just knowing when to take shots in the offense. when my team needs me to score or when they need me to facilitate and find other people.”.
The Sky aren’t short on talent or effort—they’re short on the kind of offensive continuity Jackson provided. Taylor has room to grow, but she’s arriving with the kind of mindset that tends to accelerate opportunity in pro sports. She said she feels like she has to earn every minute.
“I’m going out there like I’m still trying to make a roster spot every time I step on the floor,” Taylor said. “Anytime I get in the game, it’s going to help me build my confidence. Just trying to get those minutes consistent.”
The only question now is how long Chicago will wait before turning that confidence into more minutes—and whether Marsh decides the offense needs Taylor not just as a spark, but as a bigger part of the plan.
WNBA Chicago Sky Sydney Taylor Rickea Jackson Tyler Marsh Wintrust Arena Lynx Cheryl Reeve Kamilla Cardoso Azura Stevens Natasha Cloud ACL injury