The 2016 WNBA season was the 19th season for the Dallas Wings franchise in the Women's National Basketball Association . It was their first in Dallas, Texas after relocating from Tulsa, Oklahoma .[ 1] It was the third season under head coach Fred Williams .
The Wings began the season with three games on the road, and they won two, defeating Indiana and Washington but losing to New York . Their first game in their new home came against in-state rivals San Antonio on May 21. Dallas won 82–77 to mark their first win in their new home in front of a sell-out crowd. However, they would go on to lose their next two home games to finish May 3–3. Their losing streak extended into June, where they lost their first four games. Two of those losses were against eventual WNBA Finalists Minnesota and Los Angeles . The team extended its streaky performance by winning their next four games, including two wins, one in overtime, over Phoenix . The Wings lost two and won one game to finish June 5–6. Continuing to over around .500, Dallas lost its opening game of July and defeated Phoenix again in the second game. The team then hit a rough spot, losing its next six games to close out July. The streak did include an overtime loss to Minnesota and two five-point losses to Atlanta . The team's fortunes did not turn around after the Olympic break where they lost all three games in August and the first two games in September. They ended the losing streak at eleven by defeating San Antonio. They would only win one of their last three games, against New York. The Wings finished 11–23 overall and in 5th place in the Western Conference.
Trades and roster changes
edit
Date
Details
February 22
Signed Glory Johnson
March 1
Signed Riquna Williams
Acquired Erin Phillips , the 5th pick in the 2016 WNBA draft, and the 11th pick in the 2017 WNBA draft from Los Angeles in exchange for Riquna Williams and the 6th pick in the 2016 WNBA draft.[ 2]
May 11
Acquired the 10th overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft from New York in exchange for Amanda Zahui B. and the 14th overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft.[ 3]
2016 Dallas Wings roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Nat.
Name
Height
Weight
DOB
From
Yrs
G
8
Bias, Tiffany
5' 7" (1.7m)
135 lb (61kg)
05-22-1992
Oklahoma State
2
G/F
13
Christmas-Kelly, Karima
6' 0" (1.83m)
209 lb (95kg)
09-11-1989
Duke
5
G
4
Diggins-Smith, Skylar
5' 9" (1.75m)
140 lb (64kg)
08-02-1990
Notre Dame
3
C
44
Hamblin, Ruth
6' 6" (1.98m)
227 lb (103kg)
06-24-1994
Oregon State
R
F
35
Hooper, Jordan
6' 2" (1.88m)
185 lb (84kg)
02-20-1992
Nebraska
2
F
25
Johnson, Glory
6' 3" (1.91m)
170 lb (77kg)
07-27-1990
Tennessee
3
C
3
Paris, Courtney
6' 4" (1.93m)
250 lb (113kg)
09-21-1987
Oklahoma
6
G
31
Phillips, Erin
5' 8" (1.73m)
165 lb (75kg)
05-19-1985
8
F
22
Pierson, Plenette
6' 2" (1.88m)
195 lb (88kg)
08-31-1981
Texas Tech
13
F
55
Plaisance, Theresa
6' 5" (1.96m)
200 lb (91kg)
05-18-1992
LSU
2
F
23
Powers, Aerial
5' 11" (1.8m)
170 lb (77kg)
01-17-1994
Michigan State
R
G
0
Sims, Odyssey
5' 8" (1.73m)
155 lb (70kg)
07-13-1992
Baylor
2
Head coach
Fred Williams (Boise State )
Assistant coaches
Bridget Pettis (Florida ) Ed Baldwin (North Carolina Central )
Athletic trainer
Allison Russell (Tulsa )
Strength and conditioning coach
Claus Souza (Tulsa )
Legend
(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
2016 game log Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
May: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
2016 season schedule
2016 game log Total: 11–23 (Home: 6–11; Road: 5–12)
May: 3–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 2–1)
June
: 5–6 (Home: 3–3; Road: 2–3)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Location Attendance
Record
7
June 4
@ Minnesota
L 63–80
Aerial Powers (20)
Courtney Paris (8)
Kiesel , Sims (4)
Target Center 7,634
3–4
8
June 8
Washington
L 79–87
Aerial Powers (17)
Karima Christmas-Kelly (10)
Odyssey Sims (9)
College Park Center 4,177
3–5
9
June 11
Los Angeles
L 73–97
Odyssey Sims (18)
Glory Johnson (6)
Odyssey Sims (3)
College Park Center 5,061
3–6
10
June 14
@ New York
L 88–91
Karima Christmas-Kelly (21)
Courtney Paris (10)
Odyssey Sims (5)
Madison Square Garden 7,939
3–7
11
June 16
Seattle
W 88–79
Christmas-Kelly, Sims (17)
Courtney Paris (10)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (5)
College Park Center 4,622
4–7
12
June 18
@ Phoenix
W 117–111 (OT)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (27)
Courtney Paris (12)
Odyssey Sims (6)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,235
5–7
13
June 21
Phoenix
W 100–90
Skylar Diggins-Smith (20)
Glory Johnson (10)
Odyssey Sims (9)
College Park Center 6,819
6–7
14
June 23
San Antonio
W 97–90
Plenette Pierson (21)
Glory Johnson (11)
Diggins-Smith, Sims (5)
College Park Center 4,027
7–7
15
June 25
Indiana
L 92–87
Karima Christmas-Kelly (21)
Karima Christmas-Kelly (12)
Christmas-Kelly, Diggins-Smith (4)
College Park Center 5,206
7–8
16
June 28
@ Los Angeles
L 84–89
Skylar Diggins-Smith (29)
Christmas-Kelly, Paris (7)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (7)
Staples Center 7,823
7–9
17
June 30
@ Seattle
W 83–78
Aerial Powers (19)
Courtney Paris (12)
Karima Christmas-Kelly (5)
KeyArena 5,365
8–9
July
: 1–7 (Home: 1–3; Road: 0–4)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Location Attendance
Record
18
July 2
Connecticut
L 83–86
Glory Johnson (16)
Glory Johnson (12)
Christmas-Kelly , Diggins-Smith , Sims (2)
College Park Center 5,108
8–10
19
July 5
Phoenix
W 77–74
Glory Johnson (23)
Glory Johnson (22)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (4)
College Park Center 5,480
9–10
20
July 8
@ Atlanta
L 90–95
Karima Christmas-Kelly (18)
Christmas-Kelly, Johnson (15)
Odyssey Sims (5)
Philips Arena 6,745
9–11
21
July 9
@ Minnesota
L 56–93
Phillips , Powers (9)
Courtney Paris (6)
Kiesel , Phillips, Sims (2)
Target Center 7,613
9–12
22
July 15
@ Chicago
L 77–84
Plenette Pierson (20)
Courtney Paris (8)
Odyssey Sims (6)
Allstate Arena 6,012
9–13
23
July 17
Minnesota
L 97–98 (OT)
Plenette Pierson (21)
Plenette Pierson (11)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (9)
College Park Center 5,752
9–14
24
July 20
Connecticut
L 78–89
Odyssey Sims (20)
Courtney Paris (11)
Odyssey Sims (8)
College Park Center 4,873
9–15
25
July 22
@ Atlanta
L 88–93
Skylar Diggins-Smith (29)
Courtney Paris (10)
Plenette Pierson (7)
McCamish Pavilion 4,749
9–16
August
: 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–2)
September
: 2–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–2)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Location Attendance
Record
29
September 2
Los Angeles
L 79–87
Odyssey Sims (26)
Glory Johnson (15)
Christmas-Kelly , Diggins-Smith , Powers , Sims (2)
College Park Center 5,176
9–20
30
September 4
Washington
L 83–88
Skylar Diggins-Smith (25)
Plenette Pierson (11)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (4)
College Park Center 5,162
9–21
31
September 9
@ San Antonio
W 92–84
Odyssey Sims (20)
Courtney Paris (11)
Odyssey Sims (7)
AT&T Center 7,425
10–21
32
September 11
New York
W 84–81
Karima Christmas-Kelly (23)
Courtney Paris (12)
Christmas-Kelly, Phillips , Sims (2)
College Park Center 5,662
11–21
33
September 16
@ Connecticut
L 74–107
Theresa Plaisance (22)
Courtney Paris (7)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,228
11–22
34
September 18
@ Indiana
L 60–83
Karima Christmas-Kelly (12)
Christmas-Kelly, Paris, Plaisance (5)
Diggins-Smith, Sims (4)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 17,704
11–23
2016 season schedule
Notes
# – Playoff seed
e – Eliminated from playoffs