Dallas Wings Team Notes

• The Wings recorded their third win at home and are 3-1 while playing at College Park Center. Overall the Wings are 5-4 and 3-1 in the month of June.
• The Wings biggest lead of the night came in the first half when the team led by 13.
• The Wings ended the night with 43 boards for the night. It is the second time this season the team has grabbed 40+ total rebounds for the season.
• Behind the charity stripe, the Wings shot over 80% for the third time this season ending the night at 82.4 percent
• The Wings scored 48 points inside the paint in tonight’s game. It is the third time the team has scored 40 or more under the basket.
• Four Wings players scored double figures.

Dallas Wings Player Notes

• Liz Cambage recorded another career high night breaking her career best in total rebounds with 18. Defensively she grabbed 16, which is the most she’s recorded in her WNBA stint. She also tied her career best in total points for the third time this season with 28 points.
• Skylar Diggins-Smith registered her sixth 20-point plus game for the season-ending the night with 20 points. She also led the Wings in assists with six.
• The dynamic duo of Skylar Diggins-Smith and Liz Cambage combined for a total of 48 points for the night. In the first half of the game, the duo combined for a season-high of 32 points. 
• Off the bench Glory Johnson registered 11 points and a season-high in total boards with nine.

Wings Head Coach Fred Williams Quotes

On Wings center Liz Cambage

“She is capable of being a double-double player. Each game, she gets into the rhythm of scoring with her offensive moves and shooting touch. That’s the reason why we signed her- scoring and rebound. She demonstrated that tonight.”

On Wings guard Leticia Romero

“She orchestrated very well, being a floor general for us. Lots of things that don’t show up in stats. I just think for her first game that she did a fantastic job for us. She was a little nervous but she made it up defensively and passing that basketball, getting it to her teammates in the right spots.”

On putting in Romero for more minutes

“That’s the whole plan for signing her and having her come aboard. Run the point guard position for us. I didn’t expect to play her as many minutes as a I did, but she was in that rhythm with her teammates and we just move with the flow. I look for her to take some minutes there and give Skylar a blow.”

On midgame adjustments

“Just making some plays. We got a little flat making plays in that third quarter, then in the fourth we just have to close out and hit shots. Get the ball inside and get some and-one plays. Mainly just grind it out. I thought Vegas really played hard and they are team that’s really gelling, especially on the road.”

Wings guard Skylar Diggins-Smith Quotes

On second half play this season

“It’s a case by case basis. Different matchups, different lineups. We went in with a lead after most first halves, so we know teams are going to come out tough. The third quarter is so important. That’s on both sides, that’s universal. The first four minutes of the third quarter is the battle. I don’t really think too much about it. We’re still trying to learn with different matchups. We added Leticia today, and me sliding the two guard. We haven’t had any time to practice together. (Las Vegas) is a team that plays hard. They just came off a back-to-back. They are finishing up a road trip. On a trip like that, you get fatigued and it’s hard to stay in rhythm. Their record doesn’t show who they really are. I don’t think about that. It’s case-by-case making adjustments. We made the last run, and I believe that’s important for us. Teams are going to make their runs in the WNBA. Everybody is good, everybody can score in bunches. But for us, we played them even in the third quarter, then we were able to take off there halfway through the fourth to make the last run.”

Head Coach Bill Laimbeer Quotes

Thoughts on the road trip

“Well, I told the players after the game that I thought it was a solid road trip for us. We played quality teams, got a couple of wins, but we’ve got to learn the mental part of the game. Every possession counts. Tonight, we got a little mentally fatigued and it cost us.”

On mental vs physical fatigue from the trip

“I don’t think it was tired legs as it was tired minds. We’re so young, we don’t understand yet how perpetual basketball is. Every game is just a stop, it keeps coming up, we have to be mentally strong every game. I think we let down mentally tonight, and that’s what cost us.”

On game plan for guarding Liz Cambage

“I think she got too deep in the paint. We weren’t physical with her early on. When she gets that deep – she made a lot of shots tonight, give her credit for that, also – but we let her get too deep and have too many easy baskets.”

Guard, Kayla McBride Quotes

On finishing the road tip 2 – 2

“I think it was a good road trip for us, overall. Getting wins anywhere in this league on the road is a big deal, so for this young team to get two back-to-back I think was really good for us. Obviously, we didn’t finish the road trip how we wanted to, but carrying this momentum, the league that we play in, the schedule that we have, we kind of have to be prepared no matter what. We’re going to travel back, get ready to play Phoenix for our home fans.”

On losing the offensive rebound battle as a team

“We just can’t give this team extra possessions, and that’s really what it came down to. We had the better field goal percentage and everything like that, got to the free throw line same amount of times as them. So it just came down to wanting those balls a little bit more, and I think that was kind of the separation point.”

On team effort guarding Liz Cambage

“This is actually the first time I’ve played against her in the WNBA, so, I think you just want to make her shoot from the outside. She didn’t take any outside shots, and that’s what made her so effective. She got comfortable, she got into a rhythm, and it didn’t really matter what we did. Obviously, JiSu (Park) has been our big presence inside, so I was really proud of her just on this road trip overall. She saw Tina Charles, she saw Brittney Griner, she saw Cambage, so, just to see her growth and her learning process, as well as A’ja Wilson’s. It’s tough, she (Cambage) had a great game, give credit to her, but we’re still working.”

On personal performance

“I was just trying to find my shot, especially early. During a long road trip, just trying to give a little bit of energy, make it a little bit easier on our post players. I felt like A’ja (Wilson) has been carrying us a loto f these games, so I wanted to take the pressure off her, hit some outside shots. And I think overall, it helped, but then Cambage kind of got off. So, it’s tough, especially on the road, and their fans, they’re a lot more comfortable, they probably had a couple more days than we had, but give credit to them.”

Forward, A’ja Wilson Quotes

On finishing the four-game road trip

“Of course, we would have loved to go 4-0, but 2-2 I feel like that’s something that surprised a lot of people, and I think that we grew from it, and that’s what it’s all about. In this league, like coach always says, it doesn’t stop. So for us to keep going and keep growing, I think there’s a bright future for us.”

On posting up vs Liz Cambage

“I feel like our game plan was similar to how we would defend Brittney Griner. It’s just that we’re not all up there, so I think for us, it’s using our length and to always keep a body on her. I think that’s something we’re really going to focus on next time, box her out, keep a body on her and force her off her game. I think that’s the main thing.”

On the rebounding discrepancy

“I think that’s something we can control, I think it’s kind of tough when we’re all over the place on plays. But I think you need that extra push, I know that with myself I have to get that extra push to go get that offensive rebound, so I’ve got to put that on myself. But I think next game, we’ll turn that around. Normally, when we see things that we weren’t good at in one game, we turn it around in the next. So I think that’s definitely going to be our focus.”