Sky back in WNBA semifinals against the Sun

👋 Hi, Everett here. I'm an editor at Axios Chicago here to tell you to cancel your Sunday night plans.

What's happening: The defending champion Chicago Sky survived the first round to again face the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA semifinals.

Tip: 7pm at Wintrust Arena, and on ESPN2.

• Resale tickets start at $24.

Flashback: The Sun had the WNBA's best record, the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage last year against the sixth-seeded Sky, but Chicago pulled out a couple of nail-biters to win the series, 3-1.

• Eleven days later, the Sky beat the Phoenix Mercury to win their first WNBA championship.

The intrigue: This year, the tables are flipped. No. 2 Chicago is the higher seed, has home court advantage and dominated the regular-season series.

• Chicago won all four matchups, though each by a single-digit margin and two by just three points, per ESPN.
• The WNBA has not, incredibly, seen a repeat champion since 2002.

Yes, but: The Sky are better than last season.

• Veteran forward Emma Meesseman has been a revelation playing alongside Candace Parker, while coach/general manager James Wade was named 2022 Executive of the Year for improving an already loaded roster.

Full semifinal schedule