- Allie Quigley scored eight of her 22 points in the first quarter where she was 2-for-2 from the three point line. She finished the game shooting 50 percent from the three-point line.
- Cheyenne Parker tied her season-high 20 points on 9-of-14 from the field (64.3 percent).
- Courtney Vandersloot dished out 14 assists and knocked down 12 points for her sixth double-double of the season, her fourth in a row.
- Diamond DeShields finished the game with 15 points, including a layup with 32 seconds left to tie the game, 90-90.
- In the first half, the Sky shot at an 83.3 percent clip from beyond the arc and kept the Wings to 6.7 percent from long distance. Chicago ended the game shooting 46.2 percent from the 3-point line in the game.
- Chicago’s biggest lead of the game was 24 points. The Sky finished the game with five players in double figures.
WINGS NOTES
- Liz Cambage scored 9 of the Wings’ 15 first-quarter points, shooting 80 percent from the field. Cambage finished the game with 33 points on 80 percent shooting.
- Dallas held Chicago to three second-chance points in the first half compared to the Wings’ 14.
- The Wings scored 36 points in the third quarter to cut the Sky’s 19-point lead and tie the game heading into the fourth quarter.
- Glory Johnson earned a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
- Kayla Thornton hit her first three-pointer in the fourth to put the Wings ahead by three with 1:20 left in the game.
POST GAME QUOTES
SKY GENERAL MANAGER & HEAD COACH AMBER STOCKS
On tonight’s game:
“For people that love watching some good basketball, today was a display of some outstanding, quality basketball. 92 and 91 points respectively, in only 40 minutes of play. Both teams moved the ball well, our team did a great job of adjusting to in-game strategy and scheme changes that we were making. And moving the basketball and applying – we played with confidence, we put the ball in Diamond’s [DeShields] hands to make some big plays, and she went to the basket with confidence, which is outstanding for a rookie. And Cheyenne Parker, who was there to secure a great offensive rebound and finish. I love the toughness that our team played with, and the resiliency, we were able to go deep into our bench and get some impressive play from Kahleah Copper, Linnae Harper and great minutes with Alaina Coates.”
On the final five minutes of a back-and-forth game:
“Everyone on Dallas is capable of shooting the three, so it’s hard to put so much focus on [Liz] Cambage. So with two defenders on her, the other three players on the court really had to move and guard the perimeter well. So we essentially kind of played three defenders on (Skylar) Diggins-Smith and Cambage, and our other two defenders had to guard three people. And we did a great job, especially a lot of that came down to Allie Quigley, Kahleah Copper and Diamond DeShields did a great job of holding down the backside of our defense. That allowed us to make that late-game adjustment.”
On what to do to close/keep closing games like these out:
“Get the ball to our wings, Allie [Quigley], Diamond [DeShields], and Kahleah Copper. Our posts are able to be the icing on the cake. Hit the high post jumpers, rebounds, and score inside.”
SKY GUARD ALLIE QUIGLEY
On the closeness of the game:
“We had a huge first quarter, a huge first half, we really played like we’ve been wanting to play, the way we’ve been talking about lately. Unfortunately, they picked up the intensity and the defense, they pressured us a lot and it really got to us. We have to take that as a learning experience, I’m sure other teams are going to do that. But we had big people make big plays, especially Cheyenne Parker at the end with that rebound.”
On withstanding the furious Dallas rally:
“It wasn’t pretty, and once we went down two or three, or whatever it was, we could have just folded and not done the little things. But we kept fighting, kept making shots, kept getting stops, crucial stops. That was huge to just finish that game… We wanted Diamond to go attack, cuz she can shoot over anyone. She took the post player with her ‘cause she beat the guard, and [Cheyenne Parker] did her job, ran in there and got the rebound. It was perfect.”
On her post All-Star Game mentality:
“Just be consistent, and do whatever it takes to get a win. We have a record in mind that we want to finish the season with, to make that playoff push, so that’s what we’re focused on every single game. Being aggressive and finding any way to win, whatever it takes.”
SKY FORWARD CHEYENNE PARKER
On the game-winning shot:
“The set up was to try to get Diamond [DeShields] to the rim, ‘cause that’s her game, is to get to the basket. I just knew to be ready to get open for it. My mindset was just trying to make sure that I was following right behind. So it just worked out where I was able to get the put-back.”
On second-chance points:
“For them, that was almost what cost us the game. Their second chance points. So, I think it was really big for us to get that second chance point, and it was ironic.”
On personal performance:
“I have the best point guard in the league. So, she just knows how to find the open man, and I just happened to be the open man a lot tonight. And she got me the ball.”
WINGS HEAD COACH FRED WILLIAMS
On tonight’s game:
“I thought we had some opportunities and shots in the first half that didn’t fall. Defensively, we just didn’t come to play that first half like we did the second. I thought I got on them at halftime and they responded with some aggressive defense, and got ourselves back in it. We had some opportunities. The game could have gone either way in the last few minutes. It came down to a rebound or a missed assignment or trying to get a ball. I appreciate our effort and how we fought back and battled down by 24. We’ve just got to play a better first half.”
On halftime adjustments:
“I pretty much had my tie off when I was talking to them at halftime. I was upset about a few things that we didn’t communicate on defensively. With our shots, I said we are going to have a lot of attempts. I think we had 124 possessions in this game. We can’t shoot 2-22 from the three. I think we learned our lesson tonight to not let the opponents bait you. Take the soft two and get it to the rim. I kind of let in to them a bit. Not too hard but just enough to wake up and start playing basketball.”
On Wings guard Tayler Hill:
“I thought she was very poised. She has only had a couple days of running plays and learning defensive assignments. Once she feels her way, she is going to be a great outside threat for us. I could have utilized her a bit more in the second half, but I thought that group in there had us going and you don’t want to mess up that rhythm of five players who are really attune to making things happen.”
WINGS CENTER LIZ CAMBAGE
On tonight’s second half:
“We didn’t want to be embarrassed on our home court, so we got it together and came out at halftime.”
WINGS GUARD TAYLOR HILL
On joining the Wings:
“I’m excited. We have a great team here and a great group of girls. The coaching staff is great. We are surrounded by champions on the coaching staff. Tonight hurt. We beat ourselves tonight. But I am excited to be where I am.”
On tonight’s game:
“We just started off slow. We just missed some defensive cues. They got some 50-50 balls. It was nothing special that they did to beat us.”
NEXT UP: The Chicago Sky travel to Georgia to face the Atlanta Dream for the final time of the regular season this Friday, August 3. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CST at McCamish Pavilion.