Courtney Vandersloot added 16 points for Chicago (16-15), which played without WNBA scoring leader Elena Delle Donne for a second straight game because of a thumb injury. She will undergo surgery on Tuesday. There is no timetable for her return.
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Delle Donne is as critical to her team’s offensive output as any player in the WNBA, averaging 21.5 points per game.
Delle Donne was averaging a league-leading 22.1 points per game to go with 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 blocks before the injury. Under the league’s new playoff format, the Sky would face the seventh-place Seattle Storm in a single-elimination first-round matchup.
Although they have already clinched a playoff spot, they will jockey for position against the Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream over the next week.
Delle Donne is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday to fix her right thumb. The 27-year-old guard has connected on 43 percent of her three-point attempts after making just 31 percent of her long-range tries last season. The WNBA playoffs are set to begin September 21.
Thomas finished with a season-best 21 points and Chiney Ogwumike had 20 points and 10 rebounds for CT (11-20), which is 0-7 at home against the Eastern Conference.
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The Sky has gone 5-2 since Delle Donne, its only Olympian, returned from Brazil after being part of the USA gold-medal team.
