Arlington, TX – The Dallas Wings head to Chicago this afternoon as they prepare to face the Sky for the first time this season. The game is scheduled for an 11 am tip-off in tomorrow morning.
TEAM STATS
The Wings are now 9-10 as they continue the second half of the season. In the league, they are ranked eighth and in the final playoff spot as of today.
ON THE ROAD
The Wings continue their road trip this week, as they head to face the Chicago Sky. The Sky are coming off a big 100-76 win over the Minnesota Lynx. It has been the only win on their home court so far, this season.
On the road, the Wings are 4-5, with wins in Phoenix on 5/14, San Antonio (5/25 & 6/23), and Washington on 6/18. In the nine games played, the team is averaging 81.5 points per game. Skylar Diggins-Smith, Glory Johnson and Kaela Davis have had stellar performances on the road, all scoring 20 plus point games and taking the team to big wins. Rookie Kaela Davis kicked it off in the Wings season opener in Phoenix, scoring 20 points, being the only rookie in franchise history to score that many points in a season opener. Glory Johnson recorded 16 points in one quarter to end the game against Washington on 6/18 with 27 points. She became the first Wings player this season to score over 10 points in a quarter. Skylar Diggins-Smith rounds out the group. Against San Antonio on 6/23, she broke a franchise record with seven 3-point field goals made and ending the night with 30 points. It was the first 30-point game the veteran guard had scored since 6/28/15 in Seattle.
VERSUS THE SKY
The Wings lead the overall series with an 18-12 record. When playing in Chicago, Dallas is 7-8. Last season the Sky took the series at 3-0. Courtney Paris led the Wings in total rebounds with 23 overall, averaging 7.6 per game. All three games were close matchups with just a seven or five-point difference. The Wings will head to Chicago twice this year, with the first contest on Wednesday and a later matchup in late August. Following July 12th’s contest, the Wings will turn around to host the Sky four days later in Arlington.
REACH FOR THE SKY
Skylar Diggins-Smith has been instrumental this season. Against Atlanta this week, she recorded her fifth and sixth 20-point games of the season, to move up the league ranks. With the 17.7 points per game, she went up two notches and now sits eighth overall in league leaders and remains in the top five at fourth in total assists leaders averaging 5.8 per game. On 6/23, she recorded her first 30-point game of the season leading the Wings to their seventh victory of the season. The last 30-point game she recorded was on 6/28/15, when she scored 31 points against Seattle. The 30 points scored is four points shy of her career high which also took place against San Antonio on 7/22/14. Was awarded Player of the Week for the week of June 26.
GLORY’S GLORIOUS
Glory Johnson recorded her eighth double-double of the season on 7/9 with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Against Washington on 6/18, Glory Johnson had a monumental game, scoring 16 points in the third quarter and ending the
afternoon with 27, a new season high. The 16 points was also the most she has scored in a quarter this season. Her highest double-double came against LA when she hit 24 points and 12 rebounds, leading the way for the Wings to defeat the 2016 WNBA Champions on 6/9. In the fourth quarter, she recorded 10 of the 24 points, the most she has recorded in a quarter this season. She hit her first double-double in the Wings’ season opener with 12 points and 11 rebounds. She remains in the top five amongst league leaders in boards at fourth. This season she is averaging 8.5 rebounds per game with a total of 153.
WATCH US WORK
Tomorrow’s broadcast will be seen on Live Access via Twitter.