Coach James Wade felt like Game 2 of the first round series was a better indicator of what the Sky is capable of.

It wasn’t the same blowout, but the Sky punched their ticket to the semifinals as they ran past New York in Brooklyn Tuesday night, 90-72.

New York cut it to just 5 points in the 4th quarter off a 5-point play from Sabrina Ionescu. Immediately following, Sky called a timeout.

“It was just having extra focus, discipline and was a calming down timeout,” Allie Quigley said. “We knew they went on a run. It was a great timeout to stop that momentum and just get back to us.”

Chicago responded by going on a 16-0 run and Quigley cashed back-to-back 3-pointers to put the game to bed.

“She was amazing. She was locked in from the beginning,” Wade said after the win “She picked and chose her spots. Those shots were very key to our run. Everyone knows she’s an amazing offensive player, but when she locks in defensively the way she did down the stretch, it takes her to another level.”

Early on, both teams matched each other’s intensity with guards Courtney Vandersloot and Marine Johannès taking early shots for their respective teams. Johannès knocked down an early 9 points from the arc, but the Sky defense silenced her for the rest of the contest.

“I think it was just attention to detail,” Quigley said after the game. “She was getting a lot of them off the handoffs, which is a really hard thing to guard. I think it was knowing that when she’s coming off, we have to be aggressive with her.”

The Sky started to pull away thanks to transition points and points off turnovers. In the first half alone, Chicago outscored New York 18-3 off the fast break. They also scored 13 points off 8 turnovers and it looked like it was going to be an easy victory for Chicago with a 12-point lead at the half.

Coming out of the break, New York made the needed defensive adjustments, limiting the Sky to just 14 points in the third quarter. However, veteran experience kicked in for the Sky, allowing Chicago to make their second consecutive semi-finals appearance.

“It’s been super important. [In timeouts], I see James, Sloot and Candace putting it all together,” Kahleah Copper said. “James is drawing something up, Candace is timing it, Sloot is saying we’re going to do this. I’m sitting there, watching this all develop, and then we go out there and we execute. I’m like ‘wow.’ I’m just learning. I’m sitting here just doing what I can do. That’s the experience and leadership we need. It really carried us down the stretch.”

Six Sky players scored in double-figures with Quigley and Copper leading the way with 15 a piece. Vandersloot was just behind with 14 points followed by Candace Parker with another double-double with 14 points and 13 boards. Emma Meesseman and Azurá Stevens finished with 12 points each.

Chicago will play the winner of the Dallas Wings vs. Connecticut Sun series. Game 1 of the semi-finals will be back at Wintrust Arena on Sunday, August 28th. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.