PHOENIX– Plenette Pierson had a big night, as the Wings fell to the Mercury 98-72, to start off the second-half of the season. The 14-year veteran had a milestone night, scoring her 4,000th career point, at 9:05 mark of the first quarter. She finished the night with 23 points, a new season high.
The Wings took a demanding lead in the first quarter, leading by as much as 11 points. With 2:14 left in the second period, Phoenix’s Candice Dupree hit two to tie the game at 40, and jumpstart the Mercury to a 10-0 run, to go into halftime with a 52-42 lead. The Wings end the series against the Mercury for the season with a 3-1 record.
Skylar Diggins continued her hot streak scoring 17 points for the night. Diggins was 8-for-11 at the line, assisting the Wings in shooting 72% at the free throw line.
Phoenix’s Penny Taylor led the way for the Mercury scoring 22 points, while Dupree recorded 16.
The Wings head back to Arlington to host the Chicago Sky for their Back to School Day presented by Texas Life Insurance, Sunday, August 28. Tip-off is set for 3:30 pm. Fans will receive a drawstring back pack. For tickets fans can go to www.dallaswingsbasketball.com
Dallas Wings Post Game Notes
*Plenette Pierson passed 4,000-points for her career with a three-pointer at the 9:05 mark in the first quarter.
*Pierson finished with 23 points and eight rebounds. Her previous season-high was 21 points on June 23 against San Antonio
*Pierson also set a new season-high in rebounds, besting the seven she grabbed on May 27 against Atlanta
DALLAS WING POST GAME QUOTES
WINGS HEAD COACH FRED WILLIAMS
(On what happened after their hot start):
“Phoenix woke up. They started playing, they started making shots, and we took a lot quick shots during that span of having the lead. Like I told them in the huddle, you got to still distribute the basketball and make them play a few more seconds of defense. If not, a few of those players are going to get hot. You know, when you’re going against five Olympians, somebody is going to find a way to get hot and get a hot hand.”
(Overall thoughts on the game):
“I just thought that we didn’t really come out in the third and a little bit in the second, but mainly the third and shorten up that lead some. I felt we took some quick shots early, in the end of the first quarter and helped Phoenix get back into the game.”
WINGS FORWARD PLENETTE PIERSON 23 POINTS, 8 REBOUNDS
(On how they prepared themselves during the Olympic break):
“We just worked on us. We worked on us, our defense, our offense, everything about us, everything that we failed at or didn’t do as well in the first half. That’s what we worked on.”
(On what happened after their hot start):
“A little adversity. In every game there is a little adversity and the momentum swung in Phoenix’s favor and we were fighting an uphill battle from then. You can’t give a great team and a championship team, like Phoenix, that window of opportunity to smash you, because it’s very hard to come back, because you have so many threats on the floor. That’s just what happened, they went after us after that.”
WINGS GUARD SKYLAR DIGGINS 17 POINTS, 3 ASSISTS
(On how it feels to be back after the Olympic break):
“We lost the game, we got blown out so it doesn’t feel too good right now, but I’m glad we have another opportunity on Sunday at home. I think all of us are really itching for a win at this point. So you got to credit Phoenix for coming out, they were ready. I mean, six Olympians, they were ready to play. You could tell they were ready to be back together and I just wish we would have had a better game, but all the credit goes to Phoenix and we just got to get ready for Sunday.”
(On the game plan coming out of the half):
“Coming out of the half we didn’t want them to get a run, we obviously wanted to make our run. So for us, I don’t really have any comments on the second half. They dominated the second half. I think what really hurt us was the end of that second quarter, giving them the momentum in the last few seconds of the second quarter and they just came out guns blazing and we couldn’t buy a bucket, but no excuses on this side. We just have to be better, we can’t be mad, we just have to be better defensively, and keep the ball moving on offense. The great thing about the WNBA is the short turnaround so you have to have short-term memory and just get ready in front of a home crowd that I know is just as anxious as we are to get a W.”