Arlington, Texas – Skylar Diggins-Smith led the Dallas Wings out of a lethargic start to rally and beat the Chicago Sky, 112-106, in double-overtime Sunday.
Diggins-Smith scored 26 points, rookie Kaela Davis came off the bench for a career-high 23, and Karima Christmas-Kelly added 17 for the Wings in the highest-scoring game for the franchise since they moved from Tulsa last season.
Dallas looked lifeless in the first quarter, but began to crawl out of their hole before halftime. A Glory Johnson layup with 2:34 remaining gave them their first lead of the game, 81-80. Both teams traded baskets before a layup from Kayla Thornton tied the game with four seconds left.
During the first overtime, Chicago raced out to a five-point lead, but the Wings continued to attack, and their defensive efforts began to rattle their opponents. Diggins-Smith hit a corner three-point shot with 3.4 seconds remaining to tie the game. The Wings took over in the second overtime to seal the win.
Johnson scored 12 points and Thornton came from the bench to add 11, as starters Theresa Plaisance and Allisha Gray struggled.
Diggins-Smith said the basketball gods gave them one and although she hasn’t shot well from beyond the arc these past few games; she is still shooting with confidence.
“It just put us even. It just gave us another five minutes to try to put the game in our hands,” she said. “Luckily we had people come off the bench and did a great job for us tonight with Kaela Davis and Kayla Thornton to be specific.”
Davis called the performance of her team “relentless.”
“I thought there were a lot of times where we could have just hung our heads and just throw the towel in, but we didn’t, and….it shows a lot of character about this team,” Davis said.
Stefanie Dolson led four Chicago players in double figures with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Jessica Breland added 23 and Allie Quigley scored 22. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Sky.
Quigley said the Sky did not do what they were supposed to do defensively.
“They got too many offensive rebounds, too many free throws – that’s what they’re good at. And that’s what we gave up,” she said.
Chicago coach Amber Stocks said her team had their hands full trying to get shots against the aggressive and physical Wings defense.
“It’s just the physical nature of the game,” Stocks said. “It’s kind of part of Dallas’ identity, is to be a physical team across the board. They do a good job of playing to their strength.”
The win puts Dallas at .500 in home games and 10-11 overall, and moves them into the seventh spot in league standings.
