Connecticut Sun oust defending champ Chicago Sky in 5 games to reach WNBA finals

CHICAGO — No WNBA team has repeated as champions since the Los Angeles Sparks did it in 2001-02, and the No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun ensured Thursday that that streak would be extended, knocking off the No. 2 seed and defending champion Chicago Sky with a 72-63 victory in a winner-take-all semifinal Game 5 at Wintrust Arena.

Connecticut will take on the No. 1 seed Las Vegas Aces in a best-of-five finals that begins Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ABC.

The Sun, who competed in the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season and lead the WNBA with the most playoff victories without a title (35), advance to their first WNBA finals since 2019, when they lost to the Washington Mystics in five games.

The Sky controlled most of the game, outscoring the Sun by 18 across the second and third quarters, holding Connecticut to just eight points in the third and leading by as many as 11 with 7:20 left in the game.

But the Sun roared back with a 22-2 run to end the game, including 18 straight points, shocking the Sky and the Wintrust Arena crowd. Chicago went scoreless for the final 4:46 of the game.

Connecticut won despite committing 23 turnovers, the most by a team in a WNBA playoff win.