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]
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.
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]
Trades and roster changes
edit
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]
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
2006 Regular Season Schedule Total: 5–29 (Home: 3–14; Road: 2–15)
May: 1–3 (Home: 0–3; Road: 1–0)
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)
^ "WNBA Expanding to Chicago in 2006" . wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
^ "Franchise will play in 2006; nickname TBA" . ESPN.com . ESPN. Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
^ "Chicago Sky is ready to soar" . oursportscentral.com . Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
^ "Chicago WNBA Team Hires NBA Hall-of-Famer Dave Cowens as Head Coach" . oursportscentral.com . Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
^ a b "WNBA Names 2006 WNBA All-Rookie Team" . wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved July 8, 2022 .
^ "Chicago Sky Announces Expansion Draft Selections" . wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
^ "Traversi's WNBA quest ends" . thesunchronicle.com . The Sun Chronicle. Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
^ "MCBRIDE INKS DEAL WITH WNBA'S CHICAGO SKY" . cuse.com . CUSE.COM. Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
^ "Chicago Sky guard Nikki McCray retires after eight years with the WNBA" . oursportscentral.com . Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
^ "Seattle Storm acquire center Ashley Robinson" . oursportscentral.com . Our Sports Central. Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
^ Hamilton, Brian. "One and done: Cowens jumps from Sky" . chicagotribune.com . Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
^ "The 2006 All-Star Game Features A Record Four Rookies" . wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved July 8, 2022 .