ARLINGTON, TX – The Dallas Wings head to the Midwest for a showdown against the Chicago Sky. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT and can be seen on NBA TV.
AGAINST THE EAST
The Wings are matching up well when it comes to Eastern Conference foes. Overall the team is 8-1 and 5-0 at home. The Wings currently own the series against Indiana and Atlanta with 2-0 records. The team’s largest margin of victory over east conference teams is 23, which occurred against Atlanta on 5/20 and recently against Chicago on 7/5. Both wins took place on the Wings home court, with the team scoring 100-plus points to record season highs. The Wings evened the series against New York with a 104-87 home victory behind Liz Cambage’s record-breaking performance. The Wings will play game three of an 11-game stretch against the Eastern Conference when they take on the Sky on Friday.
AGAINST THE SKY
Tonight’s game will mark the second matchup of the season between the Wings and Sky, as well as the 35th meeting all time. Overall, the Wings lead the series 21-14. The Wings beat the Sky earlier in the season with a 23-point win in which the Wings recorded a season-high 108 points. In the victory over the Sky, the Wings were led by Liz Cambage who scored 37 points and added 10 rebounds. The 37 points were a career high at the time. She then broke that career high on 7/17 against the New York Liberty with a WNBA record 53 points.
HOT STREAK
The Wings most recent loss to the Storm snapped a five-game winning streak, which ranks as their longest of the season and the longest in franchise history. Despite the loss, the Wings are 7-1 in their last seven games, including 5-0 at home during the stretch. On their record-setting win streak, they picked up wins over the Sky, the Fever, the Liberty, the Mercury, the Sparks and most recently the Mystics. The Wings own the season series against the Fever, with a 2-0 record, while they beat the Liberty at home in their most recent contest to take the season series 2-1. Against the Sky, the Wings scored a season-high 108 points which included 62 points in the paint. During the hot streak, the Wings are averaging a 18.6 win differential with three wins coming by more than 20 points.
WHERE WE STAND
The Wings are currently tied for third in the WNBA standings with an 14-9 record, including 9-3 at home. Since moving to Dallas, the Wings have never finished above seventh in the final standings. In their inaugural season, the Wings finished 11th in the league before improving to seventh in the 2017 season. The Wings are looking to record their first winning season since moving to the DFW area. The Wings are currently in line to make the playoffs for the second straight season.
AUSSIE BOOM
Liz Cambage recorded a WNBA record 53 points against the New York Liberty on July 17. Her 17 made field goals also tied a WNBA record. In the game, she secured her ninth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. She also recorded five blocks in the Wings victory. In last night’s contest against the Mystics, Cambage recorded another league record and became the leader for most post points scored in a two-game span with 88 points, beating Maya Moore who recorded 80 in a two-game span back in 2014. Against the Chicago Sky, Cambage recorded 37 points on 16-for-20 from the field. She also recorded her seventh double-double of the season. Cambage recorded her 1,000th career point midway through the second quarter against the Lynx on July 1. She finished the game with 14 points and five rebounds in just the first half. She did not play in the second half due to an eye injury. Earlier in June, Cambage earned WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week with a 23-point performance against Indiana that marked her third straight 20-point game at the time. She also tied a career-high with 28 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds against the Las Vegas Aces. The performance marked her second of the season with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds. She also scored 28 points and added 16 boards against the New York Liberty on May 29. The 2011 WNBA All-Star ranks third in the league with 1.8 blocks per contest and ranks second in the WNBA in rebounding at 9.2 rebounds per game. She leads the Wings and is second in the league in scoring with 22.0 points per game, which would break a franchise record for most points per game in a season. Cambage has scored in double figures in all 23 games this season.
ALL-STAR SELECTIONS
The WNBA revealed the list of 22 All-Stars for the Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018. Skylar Diggins-Smith and Liz Cambage garnered selections. This year’s all-star team captains are Washington Mystics Delle Donne and Los Angeles Sparks Candace Parker. Each captain will select their respective teams from the pool of remaining All-Stars to form two 11-player rosters. Delle Donne will make the first pick and Parker will have the second pick. The two captains will then alternate picks until all players have been selected. It will be Diggins-Smith’s fourth All-Star appearance, tying Cheryl Ford and Deanna Nolan for most appearances in franchise history. She is eighth in the league in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game and third in the league in assists with 6.5 assists per contest. Cambage will be making her second appearance and first since the 2011 season. She is currently second in the league in scoring and rebounding, averaging 22.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.