CHICAGO -- Chants of "Syd-ney," "Syd-ney," "Syd-ney," echoed inside Wintrust Arena on Saturday afternoon after the Chicago Sky's undrafted rookie was mobbed by teammates near the free throw line.
Sydney Taylor became the first rookie in franchise history to hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime to beat the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 84-83. Five months ago, Taylor was playing in Poland just weeks before not being selected in 2026 WNBA draft.
"It's been a really long journey," Taylor said, "and for me to step up and hit -- that's probably one of the biggest shots of my career in my life. So, I'm just grateful for that."
Taylor finished with 29 points for her fifth 25-point game this season. All of the other undrafted rookies in WNBA history have combined for five.
With the score tied at 81, Chicago ran an isolation play for Taylor, who missed a floater with 7.6 seconds left. After a go-ahead drive from four-time MVP A'ja Wilson, the Sky put the ball in Taylor's hands again. Coach Tyler Marsh ran an inbounds play for her to come off a screen for a catch-and-shoot 3-point attempt with 3.2 seconds left. Drifting to the left, she buried the shot from 24 feet right in front of the Sky bench. Fans leapt to their feet and roared.
Teammate Natasha Cloud seemed to forget there was 0.9 seconds left as she chased Taylor to celebrate. Well after the court had been cleared of players, arena officials begged for fans to leave the building, shouting "We are officially closed!" People lingered and just wanted to hang out after the incredible finish for an 11-18 team that hasn't had a ton of success in the past three seasons.
"Oh man, I have so much running through my head right now," Taylor said. "I was really due for one. I needed one really bad, for me. ... There's some Olympians, some of the best players in the world on that team. So, that's a big win for us.
"I don't even know how close I was or how far I was. I just shot it. ... I don't think I was faced and square to the rim at all. Just let it fly."
The Sky have 11 losses this season by eight points or less, including their past three by five or less. Despite injuries to starters throughout the season, the team has been able to stay in games but has struggled to close them out with victories. The last two games before the All-Star break were a pair of losses to the Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty by a combined three points. Chicago finally got over the hump Saturday.
Marsh said they spent the first practices after the break particularly focused on those scenarios and the mistakes that caused them.
"I know that the first half of our season was relatively ugly and painful, and that's not sugarcoating anything," Cloud said. "But we kept staying the course, understanding that we're losing these ones, but when it matters most, we're going to have the experience and we're going to have what it takes.
"We constantly say, like, don't let your booty hole get tight at the end of the game."
Wilson finished with 36 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. She put the Aces up by two points with 3.2 seconds left with a drive to the basket. Wilson now has 105 games with 20 points and 10 rebounds, trailing only Tina Charles (109) for the WNBA record. That was her 10th game of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds. No other player has more than three. Jackie Young had 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Aces.
Wilson also slid over to help defend Taylor when she missed the floater with 7.6 seconds left, but Las Vegas needed one more stop. Marsh was an assistant with the Aces for three seasons before being hired by the Sky. The final inbounds play for the game-winning basket was used by Aces coach Becky Hammon during a 2022 practice, Marsh explained, and he's held onto it since.
The trust and confidence in Taylor has gradually grown from the start of training camp as she gained more minutes and worked her way into the starting lineup. An opening for a closer that could create their own shot developed when Rickea Jackson was lost for the season with an ACL tear. Marsh said she's built for these moments.
Taylor has averaged 18.4 points in 16 games as a starter and 21.3 in her last six.
"There's not there's not many rookies in history that has the confidence in their coach to let them shoot 27 shots in a game," Marsh said. "She knows she has the green light from me.
"We see her as being a part of the future of the Sky long term. So, she needs to be in those situations to get used to it. ... She has the shot creation ability that you don't need to set a screen for her to get her open, and so it's huge in moments like tonight where she can just make something happen."