The Sun Built a Cushion

Connecticut led 44-29 at halftime after holding Chicago to 33% shooting and a 0-for-12 start from three-point range. The Sun did the difficult work early: Aaliyah Edwards scored 15 of her 26 points before halftime, Diamond Miller reached 10, and Kennedy Burke had 11.

The lead grew to 78-58 early in the fourth quarter. That is usually the part of the evening where a team gets to walk around with a hard hat and call the job finished. Connecticut, naturally, left the toolbox open.

Chicago Found the Emergency Exit

The Sky answered with a 21-4 run and pulled within 82-79 with 2:20 remaining. Chicago’s Kamilla Cardoso finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Azura Stevens added 18. The lakefront stress test had become a real test instead of a metaphor.

Chicago won the fourth quarter 28-16. That is the kind of closing stretch that turns a six-point win into a full public hearing. The Sky kept getting downhill, kept forcing Connecticut to defend one more possession, and made a game that looked settled feel entirely available.

Edwards Kept the Building Standing

Edwards supplied the answer that mattered. After Chicago’s run, she blocked a shot and scored on the next possession, pushing the lead back to seven. She finished with a career-high 26 points, 10 rebounds, and the only kind of late-game punctuation Connecticut could use: immediate and physical.

The Sun also got 21 points from Miller and 19 from Burke. Connecticut made 30 field goals, but its seven made threes and 20 free throws helped separate it from a Chicago team that made only six threes. The Sky had nine turnovers; Connecticut had six.

Courtney Vandersloot reaching 3,000 career assists added a historic line to a game that otherwise wanted to be remembered for its stress level. Milestones are supposed to make a night feel orderly. This one came with loose paperwork.

The Desk Has Ruled

Desk ruling: Connecticut won the game in the first three quarters and nearly donated the conclusion. The Fourth-Quarter Competence grade is F because the Sun were outscored by 12 in the final period, but Edwards’ block and layup prevented that F from becoming a loss.

Chicago proved it could turn a 20-point hole into a one-possession argument. Connecticut proved its cushion was real, its late-game habits remain under inspection, and its hardest-working answer still wears Edwards’ number.