Chicago Sky coach James Wade brushes off question about reported Kahleah Copper injury: 'We're fine'

Chicago Sky leading scorer Kahleah Copper started Saturday's elimination game against the New York Liberty, despite reports that she injured her right ankle during practice Friday.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that during Friday's practice Copper "fell to the floor ... it was a non-contact injury, but Copper had to be helped off the court by members of the Sky's staff on either side of her. She put no weight on her right leg as she hopped back to the trainer's room."

When asked about Copper's status Friday, Sky coach and general manager James Wade told reporters on site, "Nothing is wrong. I don't know what you're talking about. We're fine."

He reiterated that point Saturday. "Next question ... same as yesterday," Wade said. "She's fine."

Copper proved to be more than fine early on, scoring 10 first-quarter points in a must-win Game 2.

The defending champion Sky fell to the Liberty 98-91 in Chicago on Wednesday in the opener of their best-of-three first-round series. That puts Chicago in a must-win situation on Saturday (noon ET, ESPN).

Copper, a 6-foot-1 guard/forward, averaged 15.7 points and 5.7 rebounds during the regular season for the No. 2-seeded Sky. She contributed 21 points and eight rebounds Wednesday.

Copper started 31 games during the regular season for the Sky, who deployed a fairly consistent starting lineup.