CHICAGO — If you had never been to a game at Wintrust Arena, you could’ve easily mistaken the United Center for the Chicago Sky’s usual home court on Saturday. The Sky made the venue their own, with banners in the entryways showcasing center Kamilla Cardoso and forward Angel Reese. The court, freshly painted, seemed shinier and maybe even slicker than usual — perhaps accounting for how many players hit the deck throughout the night.
Opened in 1994, the United Center ascended to its iconic place in basketball history as the home court of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls through their dominant NBA reign. It hosted the NBA Finals in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
But on Saturday, the Indiana Fever decisively beat the Sky, 79–52, in the first WNBA game at the United Center, the NBA’s biggest venue. Adding to the disappointment for the Sky, veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot exited the game in the first quarter with a knee injury. Her status going forward is uncertain.
“Fans got to see an important game for history,” Sky head coach Tyler Marsh told reporters postgame. “I think for us, we have two different sides of this, two different perspectives. We’re grateful for being a part of this experience. At the same time, we’re not satisfied with the outcome.”
Originally slated to be a showdown between Reese and Fever guard Caitlin Clark, a left quad strain for Clark in late May took her off the court for the first time in her professional career. Fever head coach Stephanie White also missed the game due to personal reasons, putting assistant coach Austin Kelly in the driver’s seat for what was originally billed as a marquee matchup.
The last time these teams met, the WNBA initiated an investigation into possible racist comments from fans during the game. Following the investigation, the league said that it could not substantiate the claim. Prior to Saturday’s game, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert appeared on the Jumbotron urging fans to refrain from making hateful comments.
Although definitely a home crowd, there was a healthy contingent of Fever fans present, making for an electric atmosphere before tip-off. A total of 19,496 people attended the game, more than the average number of fans who attended NHL games at the arena last year. Fans took advantage of the food offerings at the United Center, grabbing deep-dish pizza and hot dogs while taking selfies in front of an LED sign with the team logos.
The Sky got off to a slow start that they were never able to recover from. To make matters worse, with 5:30 to play in the first quarter, the crowd audibly reacted as Vandersloot grabbed her right knee and fell to the ground just inside the paint.
“It’s heartbreaking to watch anybody [get injured], but especially one of your teammates and someone that means as much as to our team and this organization” as Vandersloot, rookie Sky guard Hailey Van Lith told reporters postgame.
Despite the situation on the court, the fans at the United Center seemed to enjoy themselves, clapping and cheering vocally during regulation and stoppages. Fans all the way in the nosebleeds knew the Bulls’ 312 Crew’s routine and gave their own rafter renditions while the dance crew performed on the court.
Christian and Scooby, a dude and dog duo, hit the court at halftime to a skeptical round of applause from the crowd. Christian (the human) performed some acrobatics, including several handstands, some on top of raised posts and basketballs. After Scooby popped out of his boombox-shaped holding crate, he jumped through some hoops before performing choreography with Christian to audible “Aww”s from the audience. The biggest round of applause came when Scooby bravely moved from standing on one basketball to another.
After halftime, with Vandersloot out, the Sky struggled to move the ball to open up scoring opportunities.
“I think it was less about [Vandersloot’s] facilitation and more about her organization,” Marsh said postgame. “That’s really where it kind of stemmed from at times — that we were unable to kind of just get into a consistent rhythm.”
For the first time this season, no Sky players scored in double figures. Forward/guard Rebecca Allen led the team with 8 points. With Clark out, guard Kelsey Mitchell led the way for the Fever, scoring 17. Guard Aari McDonald, who signed a hardship exception contract with the Fever on Monday, led the team in steals with four.
“It’s a moment where everyone needs to step up, especially with someone like Sloot going out. That’s where we want every individual to step up and do more and give more,” Allen said postgame. “And I felt today we didn’t do that for her, we didn’t do that for each other.”
The second-ever WNBA game at the United Center will be a rematch between the Sky and Fever on July 27 at 3 p.m. ET.
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.