Wings look for first home win over Liberty since 2016 (Jul 16, 2018)
The New York Liberty are struggling with the WNBA's third-worst record, but that does not matter to the Dallas Wings, who host the Liberty on Tuesday night.
The Wings (12-9) have not defeated the Liberty (7-14) at the College Park Center in Dallas since the 2016 season.
This will be the third and final time the teams play in the regular season. Although the Liberty are struggling, they have been superior over the Wings, winning six of their last eight meetings.
In the last meeting on July 9, Dallas bucked the trend by defeating New York 97-87 in its second game this season in White Plains, N.Y.
That victory was part of a five-game winning streak for Dallas that was snapped Saturday night in Seattle in a 91-84 loss to the Storm, who have the league's best record at 16-6.
"Every team in the league is tough, so we just have to bounce back," said Dallas guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, who is averaging 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. "We don't really have much time to think about it. That's the good thing about it -- you have to have a short-term memory in this league because the season is so fast.
"We have four games in six days, so we have to try and start another (winning) streak."
The good news for the Wings is that three of those games, including the matchup with the Liberty, come at home, where they are 7-3.
New York is 3-6 on the road, but it enters Tuesday's game after winning its last two games, including a 79-76 road upset of the Connecticut Sun on July 11.
The Liberty routed the visiting Chicago Sky 107-84 on Sunday as six players scored in double figures, led by 21 points from eight-year veteran center Tina Charles. The win gave New York consecutive wins for the first time since May 29-June 2.
"Great, great win by our ladies," New York coach Katie Smith after the victory over Chicago. "So pleased by a lot of things. Great to follow up a tough-fought win in Connecticut by coming back home and being locked in and ready to play.
"I'm pleased we're locked in and the ball's finding different people, because we need everyone to be a threat in this league."
The Liberty trail eighth-place Minnesota (12-10) by 4 1/2 games for the last playoff spot. They have 13 games remaining, including Tuesday's meeting with the Wings, who are only 1/2 game ahead of the Lynx.
