NEW YORK LIBERTY (7-14) vs. DALLAS WINGS (12-9)
Tuesday, July 17 • Arlington, TX (College Park Center)
1:00 PM (ET) • TV: League Pass, MSG+
The New York Liberty turned in one of their best performances of the season in a win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday. They will shoot for their third straight victory when they face the Dallas Wings on Tuesday.
QUICK HITS
Tina Charles’ 20.1 points per game rank fourth in the league (as of 7/16), and she is one of just five players averaging 20 or more.
Charles’ 7.1 rebounds per game are good for 10th in the league (as of 7/16).
Kia Nurse’s ranks top-10 among rookies with 8.0 points per game (as of 7/16).
Brittany Boyd’s 5.0 assists per contest rank fifth in the WNBA (as of 7/16).
Boyd is tied for eighth in the league in steals per game with 1.4 (as of 7/16).
Bria Hartley ranks top-15 in the league with 3.6 assists per game (as of 7/16).
Tuesday’s matchup between the Liberty and Wings will decide the season series, as the opponents have split their first two matchups.
Charles is averaging 30.0 points and 9.5 assists per game against Dallas this season.
The Wings dynamic duo of Skylar Diggins-Smith and Liz Cambage is averaging a combined 49.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game against the Liberty this season.
KEY MATCHUP
Skylar Diggins-Smith is as hot as any player in the WNBA right now, averaging 23.8 points and 6.8 assists per game over her last four. But if Shavonte Zellous can slow her down like she did in the series’ first matchup, when Diggins-Smith shot just 37.5 percent from the field, then the Liberty have a good chance of coming out on top.
LAST MEETING
On July 8, 2018, Skylar Diggins-Smith notched 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Wings bested the Liberty in New York, 97-87.
Liz Cambage helped the Dallas cause with a double-double, finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Tina Charles paced New York with 26 points, and Amanda Zahui B added 12 off the bench. The loss was their third-straight.
LINEUP SHAKEUP
For the first time this season, Brittany Boyd replaced Bria Hartley in the Liberty starting lineup, and the pair responded exceptionally well. Boyd registered the first double-double of her career with 14 points and 10 assists, while also chipping in four steals. Hartley finished the contest with 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists in 22 minutes off the bench.
PEAK PERFORMANCE
The Liberty cruised to victory over the Sky on Sunday afternoon, and in the process established a plethora of new season-highs. Their point total (107), margin of victory (23), shooting percentage (61.2), and assist total (27) now represent their 2018 peak thus far. Perhaps most encouraging is that they played well from start to finish; they scored more than 20 points in each quarter, the first time this season they’ve accomplished that feat.
SWEET-SHOOTING SUGAR
With a deep jumper midway through the second quarter against the Sky, Sugar Rodgers moved into fifth in franchise history for made three-pointers. The guard once again proved she is a dangerous weapon off the bench, finishing the contest with 14 points on 75-percent shooting from the field. She is now just two deep balls away from moving up to fourth on the franchise three-point leaderboard.
WESTERN BLUES
New York has struggled against Western Conferences foes this season, winning just one of their 10 matchups. That lone victory came against Dallas (5/29), but the Liberty will have to prove they can steal one on the road; they are 0-3 against the West when traveling this season.