Wings enter second half holding tenuous spot in standings
For the moment, the Dallas Wings are sixth in a tight playoff race.
Their positioning in the playoff race could change based on their performance Tuesday when they host the Chicago Sky.
Dallas (14-11) enters its first game after the All-Star break a half-game behind Phoenix but also a half-game ahead of eighth-place Connecticut. The Wings are 7-3 in their last 10 games but headed into the break with consecutive defeats despite big performances from Liz Cambage.
Cambage totaled 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting on July 22, but the Wings allowed 50 percent shooting and were handed a 92-75 loss by Connecticut. Two days earlier, Cambage finished with 23 points, but the Wings allowed the Sky (9-17) to shoot 56.8 percent in a 114-99 decision.
"We're going through a bit of a down time," Cambage said. "Our energy and our defense has just been missing."
Cambage scored a league-record 53 points against the New York Liberty two weeks ago, owns 11 double-doubles and is second in the league in scoring (22.1) and rebounding (9.4). She is helping the Wings lead the league in scoring at 87.9 points.
Dallas also owns the worst scoring defense of any team in the top eight as it allows 83.3 points per game. The Wings have allowed at least 80 points in five straight games and 15 times overall.
"We're not in last place, we're not out of the playoffs," Dallas coach Fred Williams told reporters. "I think this group has really learned a lot about themselves, about still how to battle. It's a learning process for this young team we have."
Dallas will continue its learning process against one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league. Chicago is tied with Connecticut for the WNBA lead at 35.9 percent but allows a league-high 90 points per game.
Chicago headed into the break with two wins in three games after losing five in a row from July 10 to July 18. The Sky scored at least 100 points for the third time this season when they shot 55.7 percent in a 101-87 win at Phoenix on July 25.
Rookie Diamond DeShields scored a career-high 25 points and Chicago is 4-2 when she gets at least 20 points. Besides another big game from DeShields, the Sky are hoping for another strong night from point guard Courtney Vandersloot.
In the last meeting with Dallas, she had the league's seventh triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists.
"It is a big deal," Vandersloot told reporters. "This is my first ever triple-double. ... I can't rebound like that."
Allie Quigley also scored 21 points in the last meeting and enters the game after a big performance in Sunday's 3-point competition. She totaled 29 points, setting a record for most points scored in the competition in either the NBA or WNBA.
"It was so exciting to be able to do it again," Quigley said after winning her second straight 3-point contest. "It was a little bit more interesting than I thought it would be with the tiebreaker, (laughs), but there were so many good shooters in that group, I'm just really happy that I was able to get in the zone there and win it."
