ARLINGTON, TX- The Chicago Sky came out and showed how bad they wanted to clinch that last spot for the postseason tonight taking down the Dallas Wings 104-89.
Natasha Howard led all scorers with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assist, enroute to her first career triple-double.
Howard gave credit to her team for helping achieve yet another accolade but says she’s more focused on their overall performance. She said that one thing they have been stressing throughout the season is being consistent on defense but had a positive mindset looking forward to Sunday’s game.
” The good thing about it is we have them again Sunday.”
The Chicago Sky came out aggressive on the defensive end that helped them get impactful stops on Dallas Wings missed shots. Chicago’s Alanna Smith did not make it easy as Dallas struggled to shoot from the inside but had impactful minutes off the bench.
Rookie Maddy Siegrist helped establish stronger ball movement and play making decisions while Odyssey Sims helped facilitate the offense. The team trailed by 10, 58-48, going into the half.
With 6:15 left in the fourth quarter, Courtney Williams sunk a three pointer that put the Sky 16-points ahead, 92-76. From there it was Chicago’s game. The Wings were able to bring the game within 15 points but it was still not enough to warrant a comeback.
Head Coach Latricia Trammell said that they never want to make an excuse for a loss but admitted that the team did look tired in tonight’s matchup. She said they need to learn how to handle it because it is uncharacteristic for the Wings to only shoot 63.2% from the free-throw line.
“We lacked energy on the defensive end and following the assignments,” said Trammell. ” I thought there were moments of brilliance but I do know about this team and they are not happy. They’re going to come back and make a statement on Sunday.”
