2006 Chicago Sky season

The 2006 WNBA season was the first for the Chicago Sky. On February 8, 2005, the David Stern announced that the WNBA would be expanding to Chicago beginning with the 2006 season. Chicago became the second team in league history to be owned and operated outside of the NBA entity.[1][2] On September 20, 2005, the Chicago franchise announced their team name to be the Sky.[3]

2006 Chicago Sky season
CoachDave Cowens
ArenaUIC Pavilion
Attendance3,390 per game
Results
Record5–29 (.147)
Place7th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Team Leaders
PointsCandice Dupree – 13.7
ReboundsBernadette Ngoyisa – 5.7
AssistsJia Perkins – 3.2

Dave Cowens was named the first head coach of the Sky.[4] The year was much of a struggle for the Sky, as they went 5–29 in their first season. Rookie Candice Dupree was named to the All-Rookie Team following the season for her solid rookie season.[5] Cowens left the team following the year.

Transactions

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Expansion draft

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Chicago had the right to acquire one player from each of the 13 WNBA teams. Each team had designated a maximum of six players who would not be available for selection in the expansion draft.[6]

Player Nationality Nationality
Jia Perkins   United States Charlotte Sting
Brooke Wyckoff   United States Connecticut Sun
Elaine Powell   United States Detroit Shock
Kiesha Brown   United States Houston Comets
Deanna Jackson   United States Indiana Fever
Laura Macchi   Italy Los Angeles Sparks
Stacey Lovelace-Tolbert   United States Minnesota Lynx
DeTrina White   United States New York Liberty
Ashley Robinson   United States Phoenix Mercury
Chelsea Newton   United States Sacramento Monarchs
Bernadette Ngoyisa   Republic of the Congo San Antonio Silver Stars
Francesca Zara   Italy Seattle Storm
Stacey Dales-Schuman   Canada Washington Mystics

WNBA draft

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Round Pick Player Nationality College
1 6 Candice Dupree   United States Temple
2 20 Jennifer Harris   United States Washburn
3 34 Kerri Gardin   United States Virginia Tech

Trades and roster changes

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Date Transaction
April 7, 2006 Signed Candice Dupree, Jennifer Harris, and Kerri Gardin to rookie-scale contracts
April 13, 2006 Signed Mfon Udoka
April 18, 2006 Signed Missy Traversi to a training-camp contract
April 19, 2006 Signed Steffanie Blackmon to a training-camp contract
April 30, 2006 Waived Missy Traversi and Mfon Udoka[7]
May 1, 2006 Signed Holly Tyler and Julie McBride[8]
Waived Steffanie Blackmon
May 4, 2006 Waived Holly Tyler
May 8, 2006 Signed Tera Bjorklund
May 12, 2006 Claimed Rita Williams off of waivers
Traded the 14th pick in the 2007 WNBA draft to the Houston Comets in exchange for Liz Moeggenberg and the 21st pick in the 2007 WNBA draft
May 13, 2006 Waived Julie McBride
May 16, 2006 Waived Jennifer Harris and Kerri Gardin
Full-season suspend Francesca Zara due to overseas commitments
May 18, 2006 Waived Rita Williams
June 28, 2006 Nikki McCray announces her retirement from the WNBA[9]
June 29, 2006 Traded Ashley Robinson to the Seattle Storm in exchange for Cisti Greenwalt and the 20th pick in the 2007 WNBA draft[10]
Waived Cisti Greenwalt
July 5, 2006 Signed Katie Cronin to a 7-day contract
July 24, 2006 Signed Katie Cronin and Coretta Brown
September 13, 2006 Dave Cowens resigns as head coach[11]

Roster

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2006 Chicago Sky Roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From
G 14   Brown, Coretta 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) North Carolina
G/F 33   Cronin, Katie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Colorado State
G 12   Dales, Stacy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Oklahoma
F 4   Dupree, Candice 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Temple
F 23   Jackson, Deanna 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 155 lb (70 kg) UAB
F 24   Lassiter, Amanda 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Missouri
C 32   Lovelace, Stacey 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Purdue
F 52   Moeggenberg, Liz 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Michigan State
G 2   Newton, Chelsea 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 154 lb (70 kg) Rutgers
C 50   Ngoyisa, Bernadette 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Republic of the Congo
G 11   Perkins, Jia 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Texas Tech
G 5   Powell, Elaine 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 150 lb (68 kg) LSU
F 21   Wyckoff, Brooke 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Florida State
Head coach
Assistant coaches




Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

Depth

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Pos. Starter Bench
C Bernadette Ngoyisa Stacey Lovelace
PF Candice Dupree Liz Moeggenberg
Deanna Jackson
SF Amanda Lassiter Brooke Wyckoff
Katie Cronin
SG Stacey Dales Chelsea Newton
Elaine Powell
PG Jia Perkins Coretta Brown

Schedule

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Regular season

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2006 Regular Season Schedule
Total: 5–29 (Home: 3–14; Road: 2–15)
May: 1–3 (Home: 0–3; Road: 1–0)
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
1 May 20 @ Charlotte 83-82 Candice Dupree (19) Candice Dupree (6) Elaine Powell (3) Time Warner Cable Arena
6,010
1-0
2 May 23 Sacramento 63-76 Stacey Lovelace (11) Ashley Robinson (8) Elaine Powell (7) UIC Pavilion
5,112
1-1
3 May 26 Indiana 60-75 Jia Perkins (16) Ashley Robinson (7) Powell
Newton
Perkins (3)
UIC Pavilion
3,151
1-2
4 May 30 Los Angeles 55-64 Jia Perkins (12) Stacey Lovelace (11) Brooke Wyckoff (4) UIC Pavilion
3,086
1-3
June: 1–10 (Home: 1–4; Road: 0–6)
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
5 June 2 @ Houston 60-71 Amanda Lassiter (14) Deanna Jackson (7) Perkins
Lassiter
Jackson (3)
Toyota Center
5,397
1-4
6 June 4 Detroit 66-81 Amanda Lassiter (20) Candice Dupree (7) Candice Dupree (4) UIC Pavilion
3,135
1-5
7 June 7 @ Seattle 73-86 Dupree
Ngoyisa (16)
Bernadette Ngoyisa (8) Amanda Lassiter (6) KeyArena
5,741
1-6
8 June 9 @ Los Angeles 65-73 Jia Perkins (19) Jia Perkins (9) Jia Perkins (4) Staples Center
7,282
1-7
9 June 10 @ Sacramento 70-80 Perkins
Dupree (17)
Bernadette Ngoyisa (10) Jia Perkins (7) ARCO Arena
10,416
1-8
10 June 15 Seattle 61-74 Stacey Lovelace (15) Candice Dupree (12) Jia Perkins (7) UIC Pavilion
2,956
1-9
11 June 17 San Antonio 65-69 Jia Perkins (21) Jia Perkins (10) Brooke Wyckoff (4) UIC Pavilion
2,806
1-10
12 June 21 @ Indiana 55-77 Stacey Lovelace (13) Deanna Jackson (8) Ashley Robinson (3) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
6,310
1-11
13 June 23 Connecticut 79-84 Jia Perkins (13) Candice Dupree (7) Perkins
Wyckoff (4)
UIC Pavilion
2,818
1-12
14 June 25 @ Phoenix 77-90 Candice Dupree (15) Dupree
Perkins
Jackson (5)
Newton
Powell (2)
US Airways Center
6,124
1-13
15 June 29 Charlotte 75-69 Candice Dupree (15) Candice Dupree (7) Chelsea Newton (4) UIC Pavilion
2,570
2-13
July: 2–9 (Home: 2–4; Road: 0–5)
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
16 July 1 @ San Antonio 57-69 Candice Dupree (16) Candice Dupree (9) Dupree
Newton (4)
AT&T Center
6,060
2-14
17 July 7 New York 78-73 Candice Dupree (20) Candice Dupree (6) Dupree
Newton (3)
UIC Pavilion
3,375
3-14
18 July 9 @ Washington 83-89 Lassiter
Ngoyisa (17)
Amanda Lassiter (7) Amanda Lassiter (5) Verizon Center
7,618
3-15
19 July 14 Houston 77-82 Bernadette Ngoyisa (16) Dupree
Lovelace (5)
Jia Perkins (6) UIC Pavilion
3,626
3-16
20 July 16 Washington 75-83 Stacey Dales (15) Bernadette Ngoyisa (6) Jia Perkins (4) UIC Pavilion
2,983
3-17
21 July 19 @ Minnesota 82-90 Candice Dupree (14) Bernadette Ngoyisa (11) Jia Perkins (6) Target Center
14,793
3-18
22 July 20 @ Connecticut 72-86 Jia Perkins (21) Bernadette Ngoyisa (6) Jia Perkins (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,740
3-19
23 July 22 @ Detroit 70-89 Perkins
Dales (12)
Candice Dupree (7) Dupree
Newton
Dales (3)
Palace of Auburn Hills
10,456
3-20
24 July 25 New York 72-79 Candice Dupree (22) Amanda Lassiter (8) Candice Dupree (5) UIC Pavilion
3,435
3-21
25 July 27 @ Washington 74-92 Ngoyisa
Dales (18)
Bernadette Ngoyisa (5) Jia Perkins (10) Verizon Center
9,290
3-22
26 July 28 Minnesota 79-65 Stacey Dales (20) Ngoyisa
Perkins (7)
Dales
Ngoyisa (4)
UIC Pavilion
2,967
4-22
27 July 30 Indiana 64-69 Candice Dupree (25) Bernadette Ngoyisa (6) Perkins
Lassiter (6)
UIC Pavilion
3,430
4-23
August: 1–6 (Home: 0–3; Road: 1–3)
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
28 August 1 Phoenix 70-90 Stacey Lovelace (14) Bernadette Ngoyisa (9) Liz Moeggenberg (4) UIC Pavilion
5,219
4-24
29 August 4 Detroit 49-76 Stacey Lovelace (10) Bernadette Ngoyisa (8) Liz Moeggenberg (3) UIC Pavilion
3,455
4-25
30 August 5 @ New York 69-80 Candice Dupree (24) Candice Dupree (6) Chelsea Newton (5) Madison Square Garden
8,872
4-26
31 August 8 Connecticut 59-85 Bernadette Ngoyisa (11) Candice Dupree (10) Brown
Dales (4)
UIC Pavilion
3,520
4-27
32 August 10 @ Detroit 48-82 Candice Dupree (12) Stacey Lovelace (7) Amanda Lassiter (3) Palace of Auburn Hills
11,226
4-28
33 August 12 @ Charlotte 57-84 Bernadette Ngoyisa (23) Dupree
Ngoyisa (10)
Coretta Brown (4) Time Warner Cable Arena
8,339
4-29
34 August 13 @ Indiana 80-73 Candice Dupree (24) Chelsea Newton (9) Amanda Lassiter (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
8,381
5-29

Standings

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Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
z - Connecticut Sun 26 8 .765 14–3 12–5 15–5
x - Detroit Shock 23 11 .676 3.0 14–3 9–8 14–6
x - Indiana Fever 21 13 .618 5.0 12–5 9–8 12–8
x - Washington Mystics 18 16 .529 8.0 13–4 5–12 12–8
e - New York Liberty 11 23 .324 15.0 7–10 4–13 7–13
e - Charlotte Sting 11 23 .324 15.0 7–10 4–3 6–14
e - Chicago Sky 5 29 .147 21.0 3–14 2–15 4–16

Statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular season

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Candice Dupree 34 31 30.4 45.7 0.0 77.9 5.5 1.8 1.3 0.7 13.7
Bernadette Ngoyisa 30 23 20.9 52.8 0.0 59.2 5.7 0.9 0.5 0.2 10.1
Jia Perkins 30 27 28.0 35.1 27.7 80.6 3.6 3.2 1.4 0.4 9.4
Amanda Lassiter 32 29 24.4 36.6 32.9 71.0 2.8 2.0 1.3 0.5 8.0
Stacey Lovelace 34 6 18.5 41.5 30.2 78.6 4.0 0.6 0.6 0.6 7.4
Stacey Dales 23 16 19.7 35.4 30.9 69.6 1.2 1.7 0.4 0.0 7.0
Chelsea Newton 27 11 24.0 33.5 26.5 73.8 2.6 2.1 1.3 0.3 6.5
Deanna Jackson 22 1 15.0 39.5 33.3 64.7 3.0 0.6 0.4 0.1 6.0
Elaine Powell 14 3 18.1 43.3 0.0 70.8 1.8 2.6 0.9 0.2 4.9
Brooke Wyckoff 15 13 22.9 24.2 23.3 80.0 2.7 2.2 0.9 0.8 3.3
Coretta Brown 15 2 16.8 27.1 27.3 50.0 1.5 1.7 0.7 0.0 3.2
Katie Cronin 11 0 12.1 30.0 30.8 28.6 1.1 0.2 0.5 0.2 2.2
Liz Moeggenberg 27 1 10.1 31.7 33.3 46.7 1.7 0.6 0.4 0.2 2.1
Nikki McCray 11 2 7.5 36.4 20.0 71.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.1 2.0
Ashley Robinson 12 5 10.4 31.0 100.0 33.3 2.8 0.5 0.2 0.7 1.8

Awards and honors

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Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Candice Dupree WNBA All-Star Selection July 11 [12]
WNBA All-Rookie Team August 20 [5]

References

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  1. ^ "WNBA Expanding to Chicago in 2006". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  2. ^ "Franchise will play in 2006; nickname TBA". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "Chicago Sky is ready to soar". oursportscentral.com. Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  4. ^ "Chicago WNBA Team Hires NBA Hall-of-Famer Dave Cowens as Head Coach". oursportscentral.com. Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "WNBA Names 2006 WNBA All-Rookie Team". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  6. ^ "Chicago Sky Announces Expansion Draft Selections". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  7. ^ "Traversi's WNBA quest ends". thesunchronicle.com. The Sun Chronicle. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  8. ^ "MCBRIDE INKS DEAL WITH WNBA'S CHICAGO SKY". cuse.com. CUSE.COM. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "Chicago Sky guard Nikki McCray retires after eight years with the WNBA". oursportscentral.com. Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  10. ^ "Seattle Storm acquire center Ashley Robinson". oursportscentral.com. Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  11. ^ Hamilton, Brian. "One and done: Cowens jumps from Sky". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "The 2006 All-Star Game Features A Record Four Rookies". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
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