Aug. 14 (UPI) — An on-court skirmish sparked a trio of ejections during a Connecticut Sun win over the Chicago Sky. Officials issued the ejections in the second quarter.
The incident occurred about 6:35 before halftime of the Sun’s 71-62 victory Wednesday in Uncasville, Conn. Sun guard Bria Hartley and Sky guards Rebecca Allen and Ariel Atkins were ejected for their roles in the fracas.
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“I think things like that have a tendency to happen when there’s not a control put on the game prior to,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh told reporters. “There’s usually an incident that goes overlooked that leads to something like that.
“[Allen] clearly got elbowed in the face right in front of the ref and it wasn’t called. Then other things ensued. It’s unfortunate for us. Two players that play high-quality, high-valuable minutes for us.”
Atkins dribbled above the 3-point arc to start the sequence. She tossed an entry pass to center Kamila Cardoso, who threw a pass back out to Maddy Westbeld. The Sky forward missed a 3-point shot, which bounced off the rim and fellow toward the right side of the paint.
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Hartley backed down Allen while boxing out for a rebound. She eventually pushed Allen to the ground. Allen responded by grabbing Hartley’s jersey.
Atkins then ran into the area and exchanged words and pushes with Sun players. The players were eventually separated and officials ejected Hartley, Allen and Atkins.
Hartley was 0 for 3 from the floor and failed to score. She totaled two rebounds and two assists. Atkins was 2 for 3 with five points, two assists and a rebound. Allen was 0 for 1 and also failed to score. She totaled two rebounds.
Sun guard Leila Lacan totaled a team-high 17 points and chipped in five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Veteran center Tina Charles scored 15 points in the win.
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Cardoso totaled a game-high 24 point and recorded rebounds. Center/forward Elizabeth Williams logged 12 points and 15 rebounds.
The Sky (8-24), who are on a three-game losing streak, also lost 11 of their last 12 games. They sit in 12th place in the 13-team WNBA standings.
The Sun (6-26) ended a five-game losing streak with their victory, but still sit in last place.
They will host the sixth-place Indiana Fever (18-15) at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday in Uncasville. The Sky will host the seventh-place Golden State Valkyries (17-15) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Chicago.
