INDIANAPOLIS — Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon has been fielding questions about Kamilla Cardoso’s WNBA debut for the last two weeks. Her go-to response when asked when Cardoso would be ready to play always had been, “I’m going with what Kamilla says.”
After being ruled out for up to six weeks with a shoulder injury, Cardoso gave the word that she was ready. She checked in Saturday against the Fever with three minutes left in the first quarter and made her first field goal before the end of the quarter.
Cardoso scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds playing on a minutes restriction in the Sky’s 71-70 loss to Indiana. The most notable moment in her debut came when Weatherspoon subbed her in for veteran center Elizabeth Williams halfway through the fourth quarter with the Sky trailing by six.
“That was what we had to do for the moment,” Weatherspoon said when asked about going with Cardoso late. “But we’re very strong in [the frontcourt].”
Foul trouble was an issue for Cardoso. She picked up five fouls, including one in the last two minutes that resulted in a critical three-point play by former South Carolina teammate Aliyah Boston.
After she drew the and-one on Cardoso, Boston’s free throw gave the Fever a four-point lead with 75 seconds left.
“Just gotta use this as experience and try not to foul the next time,” Cardoso said.
Before the game, Cardoso and Boston shared a moment on the court, and Cardoso said her old teammate offered some advice.
“That’s my sister,” Cardoso said. “It doesn’t matter if we play against each other or with each other, we’re always going to have a sisterhood.”
The Sky (3-4) spent the game trying to recover from a slow start and early deficit.
Their typical defensive intensity was absent. Each time they tried to find it, the Fever (2-8) had a response.
The Sky went 0-for-8 from three-point range until Marina Mabrey, who had 15 points and nine rebounds, connected from deep halfway through the third quarter.
Mabrey had an opportunity to tie the score at 71 from the free-throw line after drawing a foul on NaLyssa Smith, but she missed her first attempt.
After the game, Cardoso said her shoulder felt great.
Out sick
Sky guard Diamond DeShields was ruled out an hour before tipoff with a non-COVID-related illness. She did not travel with the team to Indianapolis.
This and that
Fever coach Christie Sides and Weatherspoon graduated from Louisiana Tech. Sides played for the Lady Techsters from 1998 to 2000, and Weatherspoon is in the school’s Hall of Fame, having led Louisiana Tech to an NCAA title in 1988.
† The Sky and Fever met in the postseason every year from 2013 to 2015.
In 2013, the Fever beat the Sky in the conference semifinals. The next year, the Sky beat them in the conference finals before losing to the Mercury in the WNBA Finals. In 2015, the Fever beat the Sky in the semifinals before going on to lose to the Lynx in the Finals.
