CHICAGO — Chicago Sky fans went through a whirlwind of emotions when their team faced the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday. The Sky put up a fight during the first half of the game, playing stifling defense and finding ways to score. However, the Aces gave Chicago a heartbreaking loss with A'ja Wilson's buzzer-beating layup. Wilson's play occurred just after Chennedy Carter's own thrilling shot that tied the game with one second left. Carter provided stern insight into her mentality after the tough loss.

There is usually something positive to take away from every basketball game, even if a team loses. Teresa Weatherspoon and the Sky have been diligent about their postgame reflections, often noting growth from contest to contest. Despite the good things her team did on Sunday, Carter revealed what “hurts” the most when asked if she takes any moral victories from her team's close defeats.

“For me, no just because in Connecticut [on Friday], it came down to the wire, two points. Then tonight [it was two points]. For me it's like, dang, just trying to fight, to battle through no calls, trying to battle and get these wins and just not coming out with the ‘W'. It hurts me, you know?” Carter said after the Sky's 87-85 loss to the Aces.

“So just gotta go back to the drawing board, get back with coach, watch film, see what we didn't do correctly because of course we made some mistakes, and then just try to get better and continue to make this playoff push.”

Carter continued her trend of leading Chicago's scoring attack. She notched a game-high 25 points and shot a red-hot 75 percent (3-for-4) on three-pointers. Her most crucial deep-range shot came when the Sky were down by three with just a few seconds left in the game:

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Sky fans were shocked moments later when A'ja Wilson put the home team away with her last-second bucket.

Carter sees hope despite being hurt by Sky's losses

The Sky fell to 11-18 with their loss to Las Vegas, which places them just one win above the ninth-ranked Atlanta Dream. Chicago is doing everything it can to hold onto its top-eight standing, and Chennedy Carter knows that losses like Sunday's are part of the process.

“I think it just shows our growth,” Carter said when asked about her thoughts on how the Sky battled back from being down 10 in the second half. “It shows that we're going through the things we need to go through so that down the stretch, we know how to handle adversity… this will get us ready for the future.”