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Chicago Sky

Five Players Make Sky Debuts as Chicago Falls 79-87 in Opener to Dallas

May 16, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


The Chicago Sky fell to the Dallas Wings in the Sky's season opener on Wednesday, May 15 in Dallas, 79-87. With the loss, the Sky dropped to 16-8 against the Wings (since they moved to Dallas) all time. The Sky are now 0-1 on the season, 0-1 on the road, 10-9 in season openers all time and 7-8 in road season openers. This marks the first time the Sky have lost to the Wings since Aug. 2, 2022.

The Sky were led in scoring by Marina Mabrey, who finished the game with 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Angel Reese made her WNBA and Chicago Sky debut, finishing the game with 12 points and eight rebounds in her first game. In her return in a Sky uniform, Diamond DeShields finished with 14 points and three steals.

Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings in scoring, recording 25 points to go along with seven assists, three rebounds and three steals. She made 10 of her 23 shot attempts (43.5%). Both Natasha Howard and Teaira McCowan recorded double-doubles in the win. Maddy Siegrist scored 13 points off the bench and added three blocks.

Other highlights include:

* Reese made the first start of her WNBA career in the Sky's season opener. She became the first Sky first-round rookie since Diamond DeShields and Gabby Williams in 2018 to start in both her first career game and a Sky season opener * Reese secured the first points (12), field goals made (five), rebounds (eight), assist (one) and steal (one) of her WNBA career * Reese's 12 points in her debut game are the fifth-most in a first career game for a Sky player in franchise history * Reese's eight rebounds in her debut game are tied for the most (alongside Elena Delle Donne and DeShields) in a first career game for a Sky player in franchise history * Reese's five offensive rebounds in her debut game are the most in a first career game for a Sky player in franchise history * Lindsay Allen, Chennedy Carter, Michaela Onyenwere, Brianna Turner made their Chicago Sky debuts * Jacy Sheldon, Jaelyn Brown, Lou Lopez Senegal, Sevgi Uzun and Stephanie Soares made their WNBA and Dallas Wings debuts * Brown and Uzun both started in the first games of their careers and became the first pair of undrafted players to make their WNBA debut together as starters (via Across the Timeline) * McCowan secured a double-double in the first half (16 points, 10 rebounds) and finished the game with 18 points and 13 rebounds (and three blocked shots) * Howard achieved a double-double by the third quarter and finished the game with 15 points and 13 rebounds (along with five assists) * Tonight marked the sixth time in WNBA history a pair of teammates each had 15+ points and 13+ rebounds in the same regulation game * Elizabeth Williams tied Tangela Smith for 21st on the WNBA's all-time offensive rebounding list with 658 career offensive rebounds

NEXT UP: The Sky stay in Dallas to take on the Wings again in College Park Center on Saturday, May 18 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on NBA TV. Despite falling in the season opener to 16-8 against the Wings, the Sky's 66.7% win percentage against Dallas is their best against any active franchise. They're 25-26 against the franchise all time (including games against Detroit and Tulsa).

KEY RUNS:

* The Sky went on a 10-2 run spanning from 2:31 to 0:56 in the first quarter * The Sky outscored the Wings 25-16 in the first quarter * The Wings opened the second quarter on a 9-1 run from 0:04 in the first quarter to 7:44 in the second quarter * Dallas went on a 12-4 run from 5:36 to 2:10 in the second quarter * Dallas went on an 11-3 run from 7:19 to 3:20 in the third quarter * The Sky went on an 11-3 run from 1:17 in the third quarter to 7:54 in the fourth quarter * The Wings went on an 18-6 run from 4:09 to 0:04 in the fourth quarter to close the game * The Wings outscored the Sky 25-17 in the fourth quarter

KEY STATS:

* The Wings outscored the Sky 32-18 in the paint in the first half * Dallas finished the game outscoring the Sky 60-42 in the paint * The Wings outscored the Sky 23-12 in points off the bench * Dallas blocked 12 shots compared to Chicago's three blocks * The Wings' 12 blocks matched a franchise record, the first time they've recorded 12 since 2018 (Across the Timeline) * The Sky took 17 more attempts from the free throw line than the Wings (27-10) but the Wings made 80.0% of their shots from the line and the Sky made 59.3% of theirs * The Wings blocked four shots in the third quarter * The Wings blocked five shots in the fourth quarter * Dallas's nine blocks in the second half tied the franchise record for blocks in a half (a feat the team has accomplished twice before, most recently in the second half of a 2018 game against Atlanta)

CHICAGO NOTES:

* Dana Evans, Mabrey, DeShields, Reese and Williams comprised the first starting lineup for the Sky this season * DeShields scored six of the Sky's 25 points in the first quarter * DeShields recorded 10 first-half points * Carter scored her first points in a Sky uniform in the first quarter and finished the game with four points, five rebounds and two assists * Onyenwere scored her first points in a Sky uniform in the first quarter and finished the game with three points * Allen scored her first points in a Sky uniform in the third quarter and finished the game with five points * Mabrey accounted for eight of the Sky's 25 points in the first quarter (six points, two points created from assists) * Mabrey scored seven of the Sky's 18 points in the second quarter * Mabrey finished the first half with 13 points * Evans accounted for 10 of Chicago's 18 points in the second quarter (six points, four points created from assists) * All five of the Sky's starters scored in double figures (Evans - 10, Mabrey - 19, DeShields - 14, Reese - 12, Williams - 12) * Reese scored seven of the Sky's 17 points in the fourth quarter * Reese pulled down six rebounds in the fourth quarter * Turner reached 300 career offensive rebounds

DALLAS NOTES:

* Soares scored the first points of her WNBA and Wings career in the second quarter, finishing the game with four points and three rebounds * Uzun scored the first points of her WNBA and Wings career in the second quarter, finishing the game with six points to go along with three assists * Sheldon scored the first points of her WNBA and Wings career in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with two points to go along with two blocked shots * Teaira McCowan scored six of the Wings' 16 first-quarter points * McCowan scored 10 of the Wings' 24 second-quarter points * McCowan pulled down six of the Wings' 15 rebounds in the second quarter * Arike Ogunbowale accounted for four of the Wings' 16 points in the first quarter (zero points, four points created from assists) * Ogunbowale accounted for nine of the Wings' 24 points in the second quarter (five points, four points created from assists) * Ogunbowale accounted for 10 of the Wings' 22 points in the third quarter (six points, four points created from assists) * Ogunbowale accounted for 17 of Dallas's 25 points in the fourth quarter (14 points, three points created from assists) * Kalani Brown accounted for six of Dallas's 16 points in the first quarter (four points, two points created from assists) * Natasha Howard recorded four assists in the second quarter, accounting for 11 of the Wings' 24 points in the second quarter (two points, nine points created from assists) * Howard accounts for seven of Dallas's 22 points in the third quarter (five points, two points created from assists)

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