Chicago Sky falter in a 68-63 loss to the Connecticut Sun in a physical Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals

The Chicago Sky received a simple message from the Connecticut Sun in the opening game of the WNBA semifinals: This is going to be a dogfight.

The Sky beat the Sun four times in the 2022 regular season after upsetting them 3-1 in the 2021 semifinals on the way to a WNBA title. But history never matters in the postseason, and the Sun brought a battle into Wintrust Arena in a 68-63 victory over the Sky in Game 1.

It wasn’t pretty. Neither team shot better than 38% or scored more than 70 points. The game saw players on both teams flying into the stanchion and crashing to the court.

And when Kahleah Copper crashed to the floor with the Sun’s Courtney Williams for a jump ball with five minutes remaining, something snapped. Copper refused to let go. Williams dug in, equally obstinate. Teammates took several minutes to untangle them as the referees called a pair of technical fouls.

Copper walked away from the altercation curling her lip into a snarl as Candace Parker raised both arms to fire up the crowd.

“This is just about whoever wants it more,” Sky forward Azurá Stevens said. “Because they have beef with us from last year. … That’s the type of series this is going to be: Who wants it more, who’s not going to let the ball go.”

The moment should have been enough to galvanize the Sky. Instead, the team faltered in the final minutes — a familiar storyline for the Sky in Game 1 performances this postseason.

The Sky had opened the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run to take a 57-56 lead with 5:13 left. The teams traded leads from there, with the Sky swarming the Sun in the final minute to force a shot-clock violation. They reclaimed possession with 17.1 seconds remaining and a 66-63 deficit.

But Candace Parker missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left.

As the undersized Sky offense floundered, Parker had offered a lone spark — scoring a team-high 19 points with 18 rebounds, six blocked shots, five assists and four steals.

“She was able to keep us alive, especially in the second half,” Stevens said. “It was almost like whenever we needed a bucket, she answered.”

The Sky aren’t a small team. Parker leads the league in defensive rebounds. Two-time All-Star Emma Meesseman brings formidable defense on the block, and Stevens’ length and speed can overwhelm most forwards.

But few teams can match the Sun’s bruising frontcourt of DeWanna Bonner, Jonquel Jones, Brionna Jones and Alyssa Thomas. The Sun had a 10-point advantage in the paint, dominating the area where the Sky normally excel.

The Sun defense aimed to disrupt and confuse the Sky, forcing them into sloppy giveaways and shot-clock violations early in the first quarter. The Sky turned the ball over 11 times overall. Sky players often managed to get an initial hand on rebounds, only for a Sun player to scoop the ball away.

“I felt like we played their style,” coach James Wade said. “They wanted us to play their style, a game where it was slow and methodical, and we’d like to play a little more free. If they’re going to put two hands on us, if they’re going to swat at bodies, that’s going to complement them, but we’ll be ready for it next game.”

After the first half ended in a 34-34 dead heat, the Sun took an eight-point lead in the third quarter behind Bonner’s nine points. The 6-foot-4 Bonner brought an uncomfortable matchup for the Sky — too tall to assign to a wing such as Copper but too quick to be guarded by a post.

Bonner led the Sun with 15 points and nine rebounds. Thomas added 12 points and 10 rebounds, Jonquel Jones had 12 points and nine boards and Brionna Jones also scored 12.

The Sky needed Meesseman to combat the Joneses and Thomas in the paint. But after matching the Sun’s physicality in four regular-season games, Meesseman took until the fourth quarter to snap out of an offensive slump, scoring 10 points after shooting 25% in the first half.

The Sky never broke into a comfortable offensive rhythm, shooting 35.3% from the field and 26.7% from behind the 3-point arc.

Copper scored 13 points on her 28th birthday, supplementing Parker as the rest of their teammates struggled to finish shots. Courtney Vandersloot didn’t score until the third quarter, when she dropped a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, and finished with five points. Allie Quigley (0-for-5 on 3s), Stevens and Rebekah Gardner combined for only 13 points.

The Sky will host Game 2 of the semifinals Wednesday night at Wintrust Arena before traveling to Connecticut for the Games 3 and 4.