As the top team in the Eastern Conference in the 2013 regular season, the Sky earned its first playoff berth in franchise history. With it came enormous expectations.
But it all came crashing down in the first round, when the team was swept by Indiana.
The Sky hope to erase those bad memories when the 2014 season opens Friday at Allstate Arena against that same team.
They will have to do it with only six returning names on the roster.
"This is a brand-new team, so you really can't bring in anything from last year into this season," said Elena Delle Donne, the 2013 WNBA Rookie of the Year. "It's going to be a completely new squad. Most of these girls weren't here for playoffs last year or any of last season, so we start fresh and start new."
The new players, including three draft picks from this spring, add depth, especially to the post.
"I can honestly sit back and say this has been by far one of the best training camps we have had since I've been here with the Sky," said Sylvia Fowles, the reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. "I say that because just competition-wise and the depth that we now have, it's always a good thing to see."
Fowles will miss the start of the regular season after undergoing offseason hip surgery. She is expected to return sometime this season.
"Obviously no one wants to play without Sylvia Fowles," Delle Donne said. "She's a specimen of an athlete and there's no one like her in this world, so it's tough not having her who puts up 20 points, 20 rebounds a night. So everybody's going to have to play outside themselves for a little while and play the best we possibly can until she comes back, but not one player will fill her role."
The Sky will be missing another key player to start the season. Guard Epiphanny Prince was given permission to report to the team two weeks late to deal with "personal and family matters," according to a team statement. Prince spent the offseason playing in Russia.
To make up for the absence of Prince and Fowles at the start of the season, Delle Donne worked over the winter on adding strength.
"I feel a lot stronger and am able to get to the hoop a lot better, jump higher - rebound, I've been able to hold on to the boards, rip them down," Delle Donne said. "I'm still getting used to it and just working with the new body I've created in the offseason."
In their ninth season as a franchise, the Sky are focused on smaller goals. They hope dedication and persistence will lead to another playoff run.
"I'm not trying to be the top team in the league, I'm trying to be a playoff contender," Fowles said. "If we take care of the little things, all the rest of that stuff should fall into place. If we're out there winning games, and playing the way we're capable of playing then we'll become a top contender in the league, competing for a playoff spot."
SEASON OPENER
Sky vs. Indiana
7:30 p.m. Friday, WCIU2
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