The Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces locked horns in one of the most anticipated games of the week on Saturday. ESPN gave A’ja Wilson and the Aces a 65.1% chance of extending their winning streak to three games as they arrived at Wintrust Arena. But the Sky had a rising star of their own in undrafted rookie Sydney Taylor, who stunned everyone when the final buzzer sounded.

Taylor delivered the biggest shot of her young WNBA career as she lifted the Sky to a dramatic 84-83 win. Despite A’ja Wilson outscoring her in the game, Taylor’s stunning final basket overshadowed the entire game. She knocked down a contested three-pointer to seal the win when her team was trailing by two points in the closing moments. And fans couldn’t get enough of it.

“As an Aces fan… wow 🤩 what a win!!!!! 👏,” one fan wrote under a post shared by B/R W Sports. “Favorite hooper in the game right now!! She is literally the coldest lol,” another added.

When Rickea Jackson suffered a season-ending injury just four games into the 2026 WNBA season, the Sky suddenly found themselves without their primary offensive option. They went on to lose 11 of their next 12 games, but during that stretch, Chicago quietly began developing another weapon in Taylor.

Taylor’s journey to that moment was far from straightforward. After going undrafted in the 2024 WNBA Draft following her college career at Louisville and UMass, she spent the next two years playing overseas.

By the start of 2026, she was playing for Polish EuroLeague club MB Zagłębie Sosnowiec, still waiting for her WNBA chance. In April, the Chicago Sky finally came calling with a training camp contract after Taylor was named Polish League MVP.

“What jumped out on the film is that a lot of her movements look really effortless,” Coach Tyler Marsh said in an interview with the IX Sports. “Her footwork, the way that she came off the screens, the way she handled the ball in space, there’s just some things you can’t teach, and for her it’s kind of an innate ability. She’s from New York and she plays like she’s from New York, and sometimes you can just tell. We were kind of surprised that she had gone under the radar as much as she has.”

The training camp contract proved to be all Taylor needed. A 23-point preseason performance against the Atlanta Dream earned her a spot on the Sky’s Opening Day roster.

Since then, the 25-year-old has blossomed into one of Chicago’s most reliable offensive weapons. She has scored at least 20 points in seven games this season, while her 14.7 points per game rank second among all rookies, trailing only Olivia Miles. The only thing missing was converting those performances into wins.

Just before the All-Star break, Taylor poured in a career-high 31 points against the New York Liberty, only for the Sky to lose by a single point. So when she found herself in another clutch moment against A’ja Wilson and the Aces, she wasn’t about to let history repeat itself.

“That New York game has been on repeat for me since it happened,” she said postgame. “I was really due for one. I needed one really bad for me… I’m glad my teammates had the confidence in me to take a shot like that against that team… That’s a big win for us.”

“I called the game winner. I knew she was gonna make it,” one fan wrote. While another added, “Can’t believe she went undrafted… she’s been hoopin!!! 🔥.”

Taylor’s early struggles nearly cost her. She missed several open looks in the first half. But missed shots did not stop her from taking another one, as she mentioned back in July after a win over the Los Angeles Sparks.

“I’ve always been confident in shooting from the 3-point line, regardless if I go 0-for-8 or 8-for-8 from 3.”

Taylor ended the night with 29 points on 11-of-27 shooting and etched her name into the Sky record books, becoming the first rookie in franchise history to hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter.

Even A’ja Wilson’s game-high 36 points couldn’t overshadow the moment. Taylor’s clutch basket sent the Wintrust Arena crowd into a frenzy as her teammates rushed to celebrate the moment with her. Even Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said he supported her shooting.

“There’s not many rookies in history that have the confidence from their coach to let them shoot 27 shots in a game. She knows she has the green light from me.”

So one fan summed up the sequence perfectly and wrote, “Ice cold ❄️.”

The Chicago Sky now seem to be finding their rhythm, with back-to-back wins under their belt. More importantly, this win could prove to be a turning point for a team that has repeatedly struggled to close out tight games.

The Sky entered the game having lost 11 contests by eight points or fewer, including each of their previous three by five points or less.

Injuries have undoubtedly played a major role in those struggles. But with DiJonai Carrington finally back in the lineup, the Sky’s defense already looks far more resilient in crunch time. Coach Marsh will now hope this momentum carries through the remainder of the team’s five-game homestand, which could ultimately determine whether Chicago remains in the playoff race.

For A’ja Wilson and the Aces, it marked just their ninth loss of the season. But with the second half of the season now underway, Las Vegas will need to clean up for a playoff run.