Lakeville native Rachel Banham returns on Friday as Chicago and Minnesota finish their regular season series.
While the Lynx have assured a playoff spot a couple of weeks ago, the Sky is battling Atlanta for the eighth and final post-season berth with a little over a week remaining.
“We got to finish strong,” noted Banham. “I know that we can do it.”
The 5’10” veteran guard, now in her ninth WNBA summer, talked to the MSR on Sept. 1, prior to the last time the two teams competed. It was Banham’s first time in Minnesota in a Sky uniform—she, Moriah Jefferson, and future draft picks were traded from Connecticut to Chicago on July 17.
“I was shocked,” admitted Banham upon first learning she was being shipped out from the Sun, where she first was drafted in 2016 and signed as a free agent this past offseason after four seasons in Minnesota. “I was kind of scared of this. [I] have never been in that position, and I didn’t know what to expect.
“But once I talked to our GM Jeff [Pagliocca] and T-Spoon [Head Coach Teresa Weatherspoon], and they had big plans for me, that made me feel good,” recalled Banham.
Both she and Jefferson, another veteran guard who also once played for the Lynx, fill positions of need for the Sky, which in Banham’s case is serious outside shooting. Earlier this season with Connecticut, Banham hit a career-high eight treys, and twice since wearing Chicago colors, she has tallied 14 points as a starter.
“You just want to be somewhere you’re wanted and loved and valued, and I get that here,” concluded Banham.