SKY NOTES:
● Stefanie Dolson’s 11 first half points matched her season-high for points in a half.
● For the tenth straight contest, Courtney Vandersloot dished out at least six assists.
● Allie Quigley converted her first seven shots of the game.
● Diamond DeShields 9 rebounds matches a season-high.
● The Sky shot 22.7% on 5-of-22 shooting from the three-point line, a new season-low.
● Chicago was a perfect 100% from the free-throw line for the second time this season.
WASHINGTON NOTES:
● After recording back-to-back double-doubles of 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds, Elena Delle Donne paced the Mystics once again with 22 points and seven rebounds.
● Tiana Hawkins scored her first five shots off the bench for the Mystics, tallying 12 first half points and setting a new season-high for points in a half.
● Ariel Atkins’ five steals ties her career high.
● The Mystics started the second quarter on a 7-0 run, holding their largest lead so far at 33-23.
● Washington never trailed in the second half.
● The Mystics shot 13.3% from the three-point line, making just two of 15 attempts, a new season low.
POSTGAME QUOTES
SKY HEAD COACH/GM JAMES WADE
On the difference in the game:
“They beat us by seven, but they scored 17 points off of our 17 turnovers. Some of them put them in outnumbered situations where they were attacking us downhill four-on-three, three-on-two or even one-on-zero. You can’t win games like that in this league. Seventeen turnovers is what killed us.”
On the Sky’s performance today and their ability:
“We had a game plan, and we didn’t stick to it. We’re better than we showed and we’ll show it next game, but we’re a lot better than what we showed. [The Sky players are] disappointed, but they work hard, and they’ll work hard to get this right. I have a lot of confidence in that. Those details are what makes great teams, and we have to pay attention to them and get them right.”
On the strategy of having Gabby Williams and Kahleah Copper together on the floor:
“We thought we needed to be more disruptive, and up until that point they were able to catch the ball where they wanted to. So I thought Gabby would give us a little more quickness at the four spot. I thought Copper was a little more disciplined than what we had on the floor. So that’s what we were looking at.”
On the Sky’s ball control:
“I think we were just careless with the ball. We didn’t appreciate the ball enough, especially when you’re playing a good team like this. We know they reach and they grab, but we have to be strong with the ball. A lot of our turnovers were unforced. We can’t be an elite team until we appreciate having the ball and not turning it over. We can’t turn into a “My bad” team, where possessions don’t matter to us. I thought that’s how it was tonight: possessions weren’t as important as they need to be.”
SKY GUARD ALLIE QUIGLEY
On her season-high five assists:
“I just was trying to read the game. If somebody jumped at me, I tried to make a quick pass. If I’m open, I’ll shoot it. I just tried to keep it simple. ”
On the many WNBA stars being sidelined to start the season:
“I haven’t really noticed, to be honest. I know it was a big deal before the season started, but now that it’s going, I think the season’s taken on a life of its own and players are stepping up.”
On who should represent the Sky at the All-Star game:
“I think we’re just trying to win games, to be honest. We have our focus. The second we start thinking about that, that’s wrong in my opinion. We just gotta get wins and figure out how to get better every day.”
SKY CENTER STEFANIE DOLSON
On whether this loss was a missed opportunity:
“Every loss is a missed opportunity. We had them, this game was ours to win or lose, and I think in the end, we just couldn’t break through. That’s something we’re going to go back and watch and learn from. Every loss gives us an opportunity to learn something new about ourselves and just get better.”
On the Sky’s preparation and execution:
“We came out ready for the game. [The Mystics] got their hands in there, and we gave the ball up too much. We turned it over. We were too careless, and we didn’t stop it. We just let it keep happening. We have to get better at stopping it when it happens instead of adding to it.”
MYSTICS HEAD COACH MIKE THIBAULT
On the team’s fifth road win:
“Every road win in this league is hard to get, [the Sky are] special and we’ve had as good a road trip as you could absolutely ask for. We’ve been on the road for 11 days, played four games and won all four. It speaks to the commitment our players made, particularly down the stretch on the defensive side. In this league it’s really tough to get road wins, and to be 5-2 on the road right now it’s a great feeling.”
On the 11:00am start time:
“It’s hard because we’ve been in three different time zones in the last 11 days. We went to the west coast and got used to that, went back to the east coast and caught up a couple days, and now to come back and play an early game, I think it says a lot about the consciousness of our team to be prepared to get up early and be ready to go and get a win.”
On holding a lead down the stretch:
“Defensive stops, we needed them and we didn’t give up a lot of second-chance shots and to hold a team to 29 points in the second half is really good defense, so I’m excited about that.”
On improvements to be made before facing the Sun on Saturday:
“I don’t know, right now we need to clean up our sleep. I mean we just need to get home, get rested and get our bodies healed up a little bit. We’ve struggled against Connecticut early [and didn’t] have a full roster. We played them both times on the road with one not going so well and one close, so you’ve gotta defend really well to beat them, ‘cause they’re a really good offensive team.”SUN CENTER JONQUEL JONES
MYSTICS FORWARD ELENA DELLE DONNE
On playing against former teammates Vandersloot and Quigley:
“It’s cool. I don’t really think about it when I’m out there. It’s just about playing another team and getting a win.”
On upcoming game against Connecticut:
“Yeah, they’re a great team. They always play really well against us. I am glad we are at home, we are able to get home tonight and rest up because this has been quite the trip. We will get our bodies ready and then I am sure on Friday we will focus on them, watch some film and figure things out.”
On this year’s Sky team compared to years past:
“Yeah for sure, I think having a new coach — they’re playing differently. He’s got them running a lot of great sets with shooters everywhere and they’re spacing well and running the floor real well so I think he’s done a great job so far.”
MYSTICS FORWARD TIANNA HARRIS
On protecting the lead late:
“The biggest thing was maintaining our defensive schemes and hustling and running back. They went on that big run in the second half to five. We just said we’ve gotta dig in and play some defense.”
On containing Courtney Vandersloot:
“She’s always the game plan, I mean she’s their leader. So the first thing we try and do is to pay attention to a team’s leader and try to get them off their game.”
On preparing for Connecticut on Saturday:
“We’ve just gotta be able to defend them. They always come out ready to play. They always play us hard, so we’ve just got to play our game and that starts on the defensive side of the ball.