It was another close battle for the Wings, as they fell to the Mystics 88-83.
Skylar Diggins led the way, scoring 25 points, shooting 10-for-17 from the field. Diggins reached the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season, scoring 10 of the 25 in the second quarter alone.
Rookie Aerial Powers scored her first 20-point game of the season, finishing the afternoon with 21 points. Powers was hot, recording her first double-double of the season, finishing the day going 5-for-9 from the field and 10-for-11 behind the free throw line with 10 rebounds. Plenette Pierson also recorded a double-double for the afternoon. The 14-year veteran scored 15 points and 11 rebounds, earning her second double-double for the season.
Washington’s Tayler Hill led the day for the Mystics with 25 points, while Kia Vaughn scored 18.
The Wings will hit the road next Friday as they head to San Antonio to play against the Stars. The Wings will then return to Arlington for their final home game on September 11 when they face the New York Liberty. Fans can still purchase tickets by logging onto www.dallaswingsbasketball.com
DALLAS WINGS POST GAME NOTES
• Wings rookie Aerial Powers recorded her first career double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds… It is the first time Powers has grabbed double-digit boards in a WNBA game…Powers set new career highs in points (21), total rebounds (10) and defensive rebounds (9)…She was one assist shy of tying her career high of 4…It is the second time this season she has reached the 20-point mark…Powers had 9 points at the end of the first quarter and 8 rebounds at the end of the first half.
• Plenette Pierson notched her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds…Pierson started strong with 5 rebounds in the first quarter…the veteran in her 14th season also recorded a steal and a blocked shot…Pierson has now scored double digits in 15 games this season and in 7 of her last 8 games.
• Skylar Diggins reached the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season, finishing the night with 25…She scored 10 in the second quarter alone…Diggins also set a new career high with 3 blocks (all in the first half)…It was the third time this season that a Wings player recorded 3 blocks in a game (last by Karima Christmas vs. IND on 6/25)…Diggins also dished out 4 rebounds and grabbed 2 boards.
• Odyssey Sims dropped 16 points this afternoon, reaching double-digit scoring for the 22nd time this season…She did it shooting .467 (7-15) from the field and went 1-1 from the free throw line
• Tonight is the first time this season that the Wings had two players record double-doubles…Dallas tied a season high for the fourth time with 7 blocked shots.
DALLAS WING POSTGAME QUOTES
WINGS HEAD COACH FRED WILLIAMS
(On tonight’s game)
“I felt down the stretch we had some free throws that didn’t go down for us. I thought we played very hard tonight and we just fell short on a few shots to get. The young ladies played hard all the way through.”
(On the team’s intensity)
“They don’t give up. They have the will to go out there and play hard, and give a second effort. That’s what they did on that particular play. Skylar got her shot blocked, then on the other end came down and blocked their shot. They just kept playing it out. I was just very proud of how they finished strong, battling it out back and forth. Washington was three point shooting from the NBA range. That’s pretty tough to handle. I thought we did a good job competing and we had an opportunity at the end to get the W.”
GUARD SKYLAR DIGGINS 25 POINTS 4 REBOUNDS
(On tonight’s game)
“For us, it is easy to fold. It’s tough to persevere through when things aren’t going your way, but it’s all about the bigger picture. We are going to be professionals, we are going to continue to work hard, we are going to continue to try to win ball games. Right now it doesn’t seem like lady luck is on our side. It’s frustrating. The losses are embarrassing, especially when you come so close like in the losses that we have been having. For us, we just have to stay positive and finish the season strong.”
FORWARD AERIAL POWERS 21 POINTS 10 REBOUNDS
(On her double-double and career highs)
“I’m happy about it. Still upset we didn’t get the win. I’m happy that I got 10 rebounds. That was different for me. Usually, I got that all the time in college. So far in the league, I haven’t been able to reach that number, so I was happy about that.”