The Wings lost their second in a row on Wednesday and their third to the Chicago Sky this year.
The Dallas Wings’ 87-76 loss at the Chicago Sky looked like a winnable game on paper. The Sky (6-13) entered the game as just one of two teams in the WNBA with a worse record than the Wings, and they would be without guard Courtney Vandersloot, who sat out after successful ACL surgery on Tuesday.
But once again, Dallas rolled into Wintrust Arena with just eight available players on the roster. And that lack of availability, which sometimes referred to as the best ability, is catching up with the Wings (6-15) as the midpoint of the WNBA season nears.
Just eight Dallas Wings have hit the floor in the team’s last seven games, with only eight available on the roster in five of those seven. Paige Bueckers looked winded at times while running down the floor on defense in the Wings’ second straight loss. She seemed to short-arm a few of her 19 attempts in her 36 minutes played. Through three quarters on Wednesday, she had made just seven of 26 attempts in the previous seven quarters. Bueckers still found a way to give Dallas 17 points in the loss, while Li Yueru poured in a career-high four 3-pointers to lead the Wings with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Fellow rookie Aziaha James came into the game scoring better than 19 points per game across the last three, but missed her first seven attempts on Wednesday and managed just eight on 3-of-14 shooting as more of a focal point of the Wings’ offense in the absence of Arike Ogunbowale (thumb) and DiJonai Carrington (rib). Ogunbowale has missed the Wings’ last three games, while Carrington has missed the team’s last seven.
On Sunday at Phoenix, it was Sami Whitcomb who lit the Wings up for a career-high 36 points on a career-high tying seven made 3-pointers. It was new venue, same result on Wednesday, as Sky forward Rebecca Allen killed Dallas from deep, making 5-of-7 from 3-point range for 27 points off the bench. Wings’ defenders were a step slow to get to her when they weren’t flailing for balls in the passing lanes that led to easy buckets inside for Chicago.
Dallas battled back late in the fourth quarter, cutting Chicago’s 82-67 lead down to six with a 9-0 run late, but Angel Reese scored on consecutive trips down the floor on pick-and-roll plays going to the rack to cement the win for the Sky. The Sky have now beaten the Wings three times this season, for half of the team’s six wins on the year.