Chicago Sky rookie Kamilla Cardoso knew her team was doomed against A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces down the stretch.

Just look at the way she failed to hide her disrespectful reaction when she saw the play that Chicago coach Teresa Weatherspoon drew up with less than 10 seconds in the game.

The Sky was trailing by three to the Aces before the timeout, but the seriousness of the situation did not stop Cardoso from showing her true feelings toward the coach.

Chicago Sky fall apart after comeback

It turns out that the rookie was onto something by questioning the quality of the play Weatherspoon called.

Remarkably, Chennedy Carter revealed after the game that she gave up on the play called by the coach because her teammates were not moving.

Heroically, Carter played hero ball and improvized a crossover-into-three combo that tied the game with 0.8 seconds remaining.

Wilson would go on to make the game-winning layup on the following inbounds play, exposing Chicago’s poor late game execution.

Fellow Chicago rookie Angel Reese had yet another double-double, finishing with 22 rebounds and 11 points. Cardoso played strong with 8 points and 12 rebounds of her own, while Carter’s 25 points led all scorers.

Frustration builds with WNBA Playoffs on line

What appeared to be an unstoppable late game surge came screeching to a halt after a 15-2 run tied the game at 75-75.

Weatherspoon was outfoxed by Aces coach Becky Hammond on the final play, as the experience of the Aces’ back-to-back WNBA championships showed through.

Rookie frustration is not an easy thing to overcome, but the Indiana Fever have showed it’s possible after Caitlin Clark had disagreements with coach Christie Sides early in the season.

Indiana (13-16) is now two games ahead of Chicago (11-18) in the playoff race as Clark and Reese sprint to the finish line of this continuously entertaining 2024 WNBA season.