The Chicago Sky may have picked up a win on Sunday night when they locked horns with the Minnesota Lynx, but by the end of the game, no one was thinking about celebrating. Why? Because concerns quickly took over after Rickea Jackson went down with a scary injury midway through the second quarter.

With 5:24 left on the clock, Jackson bumped into a Lynx defender before awkwardly landing on her left leg on the next step. The 25-year-old forward immediately went down to the floor, screaming in pain, and remained there for several minutes before finally leaving for the locker room.

Chicago later ruled her out for the remainder of the game with a knee injury. And while fans await the specifics of her injury, Jackson’s mother took to X and asked everyone to pray for her daughter.

“Please, keep her in your prayers! 🙏🏽” she wrote.

As her emotional message went viral, even the Sky’s head coach, Tyler Marsh, addressed the situation. But unfortunately for fans who were hoping for immediate reassurance, Marsh admitted that the team was still waiting for more clarity.

“She’s in decent spirits,” the coach told reporters after the game, as per Alexa Philippou. “We’re waiting to evaluate everything, but she’s proud of the team for continuing to fight while she was out.” When he was asked if Jackson would need an MRI, Marsh added, “We’re still waiting to see, but probably.”

That uncertainty is exactly what has made this situation feel so concerning because Rickea Jackson has quickly become one of the team’s most important players this season.

The Sky roster was already dealing with multiple injuries, yet behind Jackson, the team still entered the Lynx game with a strong 2-1 record. Her ability to create offense made her the exact franchise star the Sky was looking for.

In the three games she played so far, she was averaging 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. But if her injury turns out to be something serious, the Sky would suddenly lose one of their biggest weapons and a player who has quietly become the backbone of their scoring.

Natasha Cloud Points Finger at Officials After Rickea Jackson Goes Down

While fans were already worried watching Jackson leave the floor in pain, frustration inside the Sky locker room was building for a completely different reason.

Veteran guard Natasha Cloud openly called out the officiating crew after the game and suggested the physicality already started getting out of control before Jackson’s injury even happened. In fact, Cloud revealed that she even warned the referees that the game was becoming too dangerous physically. So once Jackson went down, her frustration immediately boiled over.

“Truthfully, I think it’s bulls—,” Cloud said after the game. “You can be mad at me if you want to, but I’ll be damned if we keep getting players hurt in this league on any team because we refuse to control the game.”

The veteran guard even went off on the refs and received a technical foul during the sequence.

However, amid all of this, it is also worth noting that despite losing Rickea Jackson, Chicago somehow managed to regroup and finish the game strong against one of the toughest teams in the league.

Rookie Gabriela Jaquez stepped up with a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds, while Cloud added 11 points and seven assists to help the Sky secure the 86-79 road victory.

But while it showed the Sky still have toughness and depth, replacing Rickea Jackson’s offensive production over a longer stretch would be an entirely different challenge. So for now, fans will be keeping their eyes on her status and waiting to see what comes out of the team’s evaluation results over the next few days.