The 2015 Chicago Sky season was the franchise's 10th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The season began at home on June 5, 2015 against the Indiana Fever. The Sky won that game, but went on to lose their next two games, both on the road. Their extended road trip continued with a victory at Indiana, which they followed with a loss at Atlanta. The road trip ended with an overtime victory over San Antonio. Another overtime victory over Atlanta saw the Sky go above .500. However, they lost two of their final three games in June to finish the month 5–5. They began July with a four-game winning streak, which included two victories over Connecticut, one against Washington, and one against Minnesota. The streak was ended with a defeat against Minnesota, but the Sky rebounded with two straight victories. They closed the month with defeats against Phoenix and Los Angeles to finish the month 6–3. The team struggled to gain consistency in August as the won their first two games, but then alternated wins and losses for their next five games. The end of the month saw them defeat Washington twice and Atlanta for a three game winning streak, but it was ended with an end of month loss to Connecticut. The Sky finished the month 7–4. The Sky won their first three games in September before falling on the final day of the regular season against Connecticut.
The Sky finished the regular season 21–13, two games out of first place in the Eastern Conference. As the second seed in the East, they faced third seed Indiana in the Conference Semifinals of the 2015 WNBA Playoffs. The Sky won the first game, at home 77–72. They were defeated in game two at Indiana 82–89 to force a deciding third game in Chicago. The Sky could not translate home court advantage into a series win as they fell 100–89 to end their season. Their 21 wins were second in franchise history, only behind their 24 in 2013. Elena Delle Donne won MVP and lead the league in scoring. Courtney Vandersloot lead the league in assists, and Allie Quigley won the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award.
Transactions
WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/team/country 1 5 Cheyenne Parker Middle Tennessee 2 17 Betnijah Laney Rutgers 2 22 Aleighsa Welch South Carolina
Trades and Roster Changes DateTransaction January 6, 2015 Exercised 4th-Year Team Option on Elena Delle Donne Extended Qualifying Offers to Courtney Vandersloot, Jessica Breland, Sasha Goodlett, and Courtney Clements January 12, 2015 Cored Sylvia Fowles February 10, 2015 Signed Courtney Vandersloot February 11, 2015 Signed Tamera Young February 16, 2015 Traded Epiphanny Prince to the New York Liberty in exchange for Cappie Pondexter February 19, 2015 Signed Jessica Breland February 23, 2015 Signed Allie Quigley March 5, 2015 Signed Jacki Gemelos and Clarissa dos Santos to training-camp contracts March 18, 2015 Signed Sasha Goodlett and Courtney Clements to training-camp contracts March 23, 2015 Signed Cappie Pondexter to a Contract Extension April 1, 2015 Waived Gennifer Brandon April 29, 2015 Signed Cheyenne Parker and Aleighsa Welch to rookie-scale contracts May 4, 2015 Signed Betnijah Laney and Victoria Macaulay to rookie-scale contracts May 20, 2015 Waived Aleighsa Welch May 31, 2015 Waived Courtney Clements June 4, 2015 Waived Markeisha Gatling and Jacki Gemelos June 7, 2015 Temporarily Suspended Allie Quigley due to Overseas Commitments June 17, 2015 Activate Allie Quigley from her Temporary Suspension Waived Victoria Macaulay Signed Jacki Gemelos June 26, 2015 Waived Sasha Goodlett Traded Sylvia Fowles and a Second Round Pick in the 2016 WNBA draft to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Erika de Souza from the Atlanta Dream as part of a 3-Team Trade
Roster
Depth Pos.StarterBench C Erika de Souza Clarissa dos Santos PF Jessica Breland Cheyenne Parker SF Elena Delle Donne Tamera YoungBetnijah Laney SG Cappie Pondexter Allie QuigleyJacki Gemelos PG Courtney Vandersloot Jamierra Faulkner
Schedule Preseason
|- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || May 22 || New York || W 55–83 || Elena Delle Donne (16) || Delle Donnedos Santos (8) || Allie Quigley (4) || Bob Carpenter Center3,105 || 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 || May 27 || Los Angeles || L 76–67 || Courtney Vandersloot (15) || Tamera Young (6) || Cappie Pondexter (6) || Mohegan Sun Arena3,947 || 1–1 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 3 || May 28 || China || W 59–92 || Elena Delle Donne (18) || Cheyenne Parker (6) || VanderslootGemelos (3) || Mohegan Sun Arena || 2–1
Regular season
|- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || June 5 || New York || W 95–72 || Elena Delle Donne (31) || Jessica Breland (13) || Allie Quigley (5) || Allstate Arena8,123 || 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 || June 6 || @ Tulsa || L 93–101 || Elena Delle Donne (40) || Delle Donne (9) || Courtney Vandersloot (6) || BOK Center7,256 || 1–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 || June 11 || @ Connecticut || L 65–67 || Elena Delle Donne (27) || PondexterLaney (8) || Courtney Vandersloot (4) || Mohegan Sun Arena4,523 || 1–2 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 4 || June 14|| @ Indiana || W 98–72 || Elena Delle Donne (24) || Elena Delle Donne (9) || VanderslootPondexter (4) || Bankers Life Fieldhouse6,433 || 2–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 5 || June 19 || @ Atlanta || L 73–74 || Elena Delle Donne (26) || Delle Donnedos Santos (10) || Elena Delle Donne (3) || Philips Arena5,166 || 2–3 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 6 || June 20 || @ San Antonio || W 95–87 OT || Elena Delle Donne (28) || Elena Delle Donne (13) || Courtney Vandersloot (8) || Freeman Coliseum4,026 || 3–3 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 7 || June 24 || Atlanta || W 100–96 OT || Elena Delle Donne (45) || Elena Delle Donne (11) || Courtney Vandersloot (5) || Allstate Arena9,893 || 4–3 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 8 || June 26|| @ Indiana || W 83–77 || Cappie Pondexter (23) || Elena Delle Donne (14) || Courtney Vandersloot (7) || Bankers Life Fieldhouse6,889 || 5–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 9 || June 28 || @ Washington || L 71–86 || Elena Delle Donne (26) || Elena Delle Donne (7) || Courtney Vandersloot (4) || Verizon Center7,400 || 5–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 10 || June 30 || New York || L 81–89 || Elena Delle Donne (26) || Elena Delle Donne (13) || Courtney Vandersloot (10) || Allstate Arena5,048 || 5–5
|- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 11 || July 2 || @ Connecticut || W 77–74 || Allie Quigley (19) || Elena Delle Donne (10) || Cappie Pondexter (4) || Mohegan Sun Arena5,607 || 6–5 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 12 || July 10 || Minnesota || W 90–83 || Delle DonnePondexter (24) || BrelandDelle Donne (10) || Faulkner (6) || Allstate Arena6,709 || 7–5 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 13 || July 12 || Connecticut || W 96–76 || Cappie Pondexter (29) || Elena Delle Donne (8) || Cappie Pondexter (7) || Allstate Arena5,051 || 8–5 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 14 || July 15 || Washington || W 75–57 || Allie Quigley (15) || Elena Delle Donne (10) || Jamierra Faulkner (5) || Allstate Arena16,304 || 9–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 15 || July 17|| @ Minnesota || L 66–84 || Jessica Breland (17) || Clarissa dos Santos (13) || Courtney Vandersloot (5) || Target Center9,033 || 9–6 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 16 || July 19 || San Antonio || W 93–82 || Elena Delle Donne (29) || Elena Delle Donne (13) || Courtney Vandersloot (8) || Allstate Arena5,011 || 10–6 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 17 || July 21 || Atlanta || W 97–92 || Elena Delle Donne (27) || Elena Delle Donne (8) || Courtney Vandersloot (4) || Allstate Arena5,967 || 11–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 18 || July 28 || @ Phoenix || L 87–89 OT || Elena Delle Donne (32) || Clarissa dos Santos (8) || Courtney Vandersloot (6) || US Airways Center10,707|| 11–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 19 || July 31 || Los Angeles || L 77–88 || Delle Donne (21) || Breland (7) || Vandersloot (13) || Allstate Arena7,014 || 11–8
|- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 20 || August 2 || Washington || W 69–68 || Elena Delle Donne (22) || de Souza (10) || Courtney Vandersloot (10) || Allstate Arena4,141 || 12–8 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 21 || August 4 || Indiana || W 106–82 || Elena Delle Donne (19) || Delle DonnePondexterYoung (6) || Courtney Vandersloot (7) || Allstate Arena4,979 || 13–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 22 || August 7 || New York || L 63–77 || Elena Delle Donne (17) || Elena Delle Donne (6) || VanderslootQuigley (2) || Allstate Arena5,992 || 13–9 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 23 || August 9 || Phoenix || W 74–64 || Elena Delle Donne (33) || Jessica Breland (13) || Courtney Vandersloot (7) || Allstate Arena7,181 || 14–9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 24 || August 11 || @ New York || L 63–84 || Cappie Pondexter (23) || Jessica Breland (7) || Courtney Vandersloot (9) || Madison Square Garden9,987 || 14–10 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 25 || August 14 || @ Seattle || W 94–84 || Delle DonneVandersloot (21) || Jessica Breland (11) || Courtney Vandersloot (8) || Key Arena5,684 || 15–10 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 26 || August 16 || @ Los Angeles || L 64–76 || Elena Delle Donne (23) || Delle Donnede Souza (8) || Courtney Vandersloot (4) || Staples Center7,110 || 15–11 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 27 || August 21 || Washington || W 87–85 || Elena Delle Donne (22) || Delle DonneVanderslootdos Santos (8) || Courtney Vandersloot (10) || Allstate Arena5,861 || 16–11 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 28 || August 23 || @ Washington || W 66–64 || Elena Delle Donne (18) || Elena Delle Donne (10) || BrelandVandersloot (2) || Verizon Center7,400 || 17–11 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 29 || August 29 || @ Atlanta || W 98–96 || Cappie Pondexter (22) || Erika de Souza (7) || Courtney Vandersloot (7) || Philips Arena6,872 || 18–11 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 30 || August 30 || Connecticut || L 68–72 || Cappie Pondexter (18) || Jessica Breland (7) || Courtney Vandersloot (5) || Allstate Arena5,969 || 18–12
|- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 31 || September 3 || @ New York || W 82–60 || Courtney Vandersloot (21) || Brelandde Souza (8) || Courtney Vandersloot (5) || Madison Square Garden8,496 || 19–12 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 32 || September 6 || Seattle || W 93–65 || Allie Quigley (17) || Erika de Souza (8) || VanderslootFaulkner (6) || Allstate Arena6,205 || 20–12 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 33 || September 11 || Tulsa || W 92–71 || Elena Delle Donne (21) || YoungParker (5) || Courtney Vandersloot (9) || Allstate Arena7,753 || 21–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 34 || September 13|| @ Connecticut || L 75–86 || Elena Delle Donne (28) || Erika de Souza (9) || Tamera Young (4) || Mohegan Sun Arena8,049 || 21–13
Playoffs
|- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 | September 17 | Indiana | W 77–72 | Courtney Vandersloot (17) | Elena Delle Donne (11) | QuigleyVandersloot (5) | UIC Pavilion4,098 | 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | September 19 | @ Indiana | L 82–89 | Courtney Vandersloot (19) | Erika de Souza (8) | Courtney Vandersloot (6) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse7,124 | 1–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | September 21 | Indiana | L 89–100 | Elena Delle Donne (40) | Jessica Breland (8) | Courtney Vandersloot (14) | Allstate Arena2,882 | 1–2
Standings
Playoffs
Statistics
Regular season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Elena Delle Donne 31 31 33.3 46.0 31.3 95.0 8.4 1.4 1.1 2.0 23.4 Cappie Pondexter 29 29 30.2 43.9 38.1 82.4 3.9 2.1 1.0 0.2 15.0 Courtney Vandersloot 34 34 29.9 46.3 35.6 90.1 3.4 5.8 1.3 0.5 11.4 Allie Quigley 32 7 22.5 43.1 34.0 82.6 1.8 1.7 0.4 0.5 11.1 Jessica Breland 33 30 21.4 47.1 0.0 77.4 5.9 1.3 0.7 1.1 6.7 Erika de Souza 17 15 19.4 49.4 0.0 47.6 5.5 0.5 0.5 0.8 5.5 Clarissa dos Santos 31 7 17.5 46.1 0.0 68.8 4.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 5.3 Tamera Young 19 10 17.1 39.2 0.0 82.8 2.9 1.3 0.6 0.4 4.5 Jamierra Faulkner 33 0 9.6 41.4 18.2 80.8 1.0 1.7 0.4 0.2 4.1 Betnijah Laney 32 2 12.8 39.4 0.0 69.6 2.1 0.6 0.5 0.2 2.9 Cheyenne Parker 30 0 9.3 40.0 0.0 38.5 2.5 0.2 0.2 0.7 2.2 Sasha Goodlett 16 5 13.1 53.8 0.0 85.7 1.9 0.3 0.2 0.6 2.1 Jacki Gemelos 17 0 5.0 40.0 30.0 0.0 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.1 1.1 Victoria Macaulay 4 0 6.3 28.6 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.5 0.3 1.0
Playoffs