The first game of the WNBA Finals in 2021 could not have been more exciting. Despite the fact that the Connecticut Sun made headlines earlier in the day after winning a trio of individual regular season awards, including Jonquel Jones being named league MVP for the first time in her career, the team ended the evening with a 1-0 series deficit after the Chicago Sky won Game 1 in double overtime, 101-95, at Mohegan Sun Arena.
While Candace Parker led Chicago with 22 points, Courtney Vandersloot carved her name in the record books with 18 assists in the victory. Vandersloot’s distribution was flawless all night, and when the dust settled, she had broken the league’s single-game playoff assist record, which had previously been held by Sue Bird.
This is Vandersloot’s second game with this many assists; her 18 assists in a game in 2020 is also the league’s regular season assist record. She also had a triple-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds on the evening, so she did a lot more than just set up her teammates. It was only the second time in league history that someone had a triple-double in a playoff game, the first being Sheryl Swoopes in 2005. Vandersloot also had four steals and two blocks for good measure.
Parker, Allie Quigley (19 points), and Kahleah Copper (13) all scored in double figures for the Sky, with Parker adding six assists, five rebounds, two steals, and a block to her stat line. The Sun’s Jonquel and Brionna Jones were outstanding — the former had 26 points and 11 rebounds, while the latter had 22 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals — while Dewant to Bonner added 13 and 10, but the Sun struggled to make shots, going 34-for-90 (37.8%) from the field and 5-for-17 (29.4%) from three.
The good news for Connecticut, though, is that the team will get the chance to even the series up at home before things shift to Chicago for Game 3. The winners of their previous 14 games prior to Tuesday’s loss, the Sun will play host to the Sky on Thursday evening, with things slated to tip at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN2.
