Dupree’s work on glass shatters Sky
With today being an off day between games in Chicago and Indianapolis, Candice Dupree and her Phoenix Mercury teammates were looking for fun things to do in the Windy City.
“A lot of people have been asking me where to go, where all the best places are,” Dupree said. “I know some good places.”
She should. Having played the first four years of her WNBA career with the Sky, Dupree is very familiar with Chicago.
Unfortunately for the Sky, Dupree also busted out some familiar moves on Saturday night in leading the Mercury to an 86-78 victory in front of 5,547 fans at Allstate Arena.
Dupree, a five-year veteran who was the Sky’s first draft choice in franchise history in 2006, was sent to Phoenix prior to last season as part of a three-team trade. While in Chicago, she used to make a living at getting to the basket and crashing the boards.
She hasn’t changed much.
It was Dupree’s hustle on the offensive glass, scoring a few putbacks at crucial times, that helped the Mercury rally from a 3-point halftime deficit and build leads as big as 16 points in the second half.
Dupree finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Four of her rebounds were on the offensive end and all of her points came after the half.
The win is the fourth straight for the Mercury (4-3). Meanwhile, the Sky, which got a game-high 28 points and 11 rebounds from center Sylvia Fowles, drops to 4-4, suffering its first loss at home.
“You know it’s going to be a good challenge with Candice, because you know she’s going to crash (the boards),” said Fowles, who played with Dupree for two seasons in Chicago. “She’s going to make you play her. I get kind of excited when I see her because she’s such a tough player.”
Dupree was at her toughest midway through the third quarter when, in a span of 16 seconds, she grabbed a rebound, scored a putback and then got a steal that led to a Mercury 3-pointer by DeWanna Bonner.
That put the Mercury up by 11 points. The Sky, which was out-rebounded 40-29 and outscored in second-chance points 28-10, would get no closer than 9 until cutting the deficit to 6 with 10 seconds left in the game.
“I struggled in the first half with my shot,” Dupree said. “So I knew I just had to crash the boards. You’ve got to find a way to get it done and crashing the boards is how I did it. That kind of got us going and we went on a little run there.
“Crashing the boards is just something I’ve really tried to focus on.”
It’s paying off. Dupree has put up some of the best numbers of her career. She averaging 17 points and 11.5 rebounds, the first time in her career she’s averaging a double-double.
“I love that, and it’s about time,” Dupree said with a laugh. “It only took five years for me to get that done.”
Guard Epiphanny Prince (16 points) was the only other player to reach double figures for the Sky. Diana Taurasi had 23 points to lead Phoenix, which also got 19 from Penny Taylor.
Ÿ Patricia Babcock McGraw, who covers the WNBA for the Daily Herald, also provides color commentary for Chicago Sky broadcasts.