When Chicago Sky guard Stacey Dales went down with a knee injury in Seattle seven weeks ago, it appeared her return after a one-year retirement would go down as an underachievement at best. At worst, it looked like a colossal mistake.
But the rehabilitation on her knee and ensuing break gave Dales, who spent her first three WNBA seasons with the Mystics, an opportunity to get into better shape. It also gave her time to work on the mechanics of her game, which by her own admission, were rusty at the start of the season.
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Five games into her second comeback of the season, Dales returns to Washington tonight for the first time since joining the Sky and is looking more like her former All-Star self on the court.
“My injury is the best thing that could have happened to me,” Dales said. “When you take a year off from a league as physical and talented as the WNBA it takes some time to get back to where you were.”
The rust showed in her production early this season as she averaged 4.1 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game before her injury, well below her career averages of 9.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists. In the five games since coming back, Dales is averaging 10.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
Mystics general manager Linda Hargrove, an assistant coach during Dales’ time in Washington, said she saw the spark in Dales’ play return when the Mystics faced theSky in Chicago on July 16.
“Stacey is finally coming into her own in Chicago,” Hargrove said. “She had a difficult time getting back into the game earlier in the season, but she had a breakout game against us a few weeks ago and has seemed to sustain the momentum since then.”
Hargrove admitted she would be happier if Dales’ big game had been with the Mystics instead of against them.
“We’re disappointed that things worked out the way they did with Stacey,” Hargrove said. “But the bottom line is that we believed Stacey was retired from the game, so we didn’t protect her in the expansion draft. She un-retired and Chicago took her.”
Dales said she understands it looks like she manipulated her way out of Washington. But she hopes Mystics fans know there was no malicious intent.
“I made a split-second decision to return to the game, there wasn’t any plotting or scheming involved,” Dales said. “It will be fun to play in D.C. again. I loved playing there and I love the fans. They’re the best fans in the WNBA because they’re fiercely loyal and a lot of fun to play in front of.”
Chicago Sky (3-21) at Washington Mystics (12-13)
» Where: Verizon Center
» When: Tonight, 7 p.m.
» Radio: WWRC–1260
