Wings, Sky enter new season missing injured bigs

The Dallas Wings return a pair of top-10 scorers from last season in guard Arike Ogunbowale and forward Satou Sabally as they enter Wednesday's season opener against the visiting Chicago Sky.

But with Sabally sidelined by a shoulder injury that's expected to keep her out until after the Olympic break, the Wings know they'll need increased contributions from the frontcourt.

Dallas coach Latricia Trammell is bullish about the return of veteran Natasha Howard, but she also touts development from Kalani Brown and Teaira McCowan, who both are 6-foot-7 and play complementary roles.

"They feed off of each other," Trammell said. "They love it. They're talking about how they're being defended and what they should do offensively. And it's just a double threat."

Dallas, which reached the semifinals during its playoff run last season, hopes to build a versatile attack behind Ogunbowale (21.2 points per game in 2023) and Howard (16.5).

Some reinforcements figure to come from within, as guard Lou Lopez Senechal (knee) and center Stephanie Soares (ACL) are primed to debut after injuries wiped away their rookie seasons. The Wings selected Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon fifth overall in last month's draft.

Chicago selected a prominent frontcourt duo in the WNBA draft, taking South Carolina's Kamilla Cardoso with the third pick before getting Angel Reese of LSU at No. 7.

But Cardoso sustained a shoulder injury during the preseason and is expected to miss four to six weeks, boosting the challenge before first-year coach Teresa Weatherspoon, whose team lost two of its top three scorers from 2023.

Marina Mabrey (15.0 ppg last year) is the top returning scorer for the Sky, who are hoping for resilience from guards Chennedy Carter and Kysre Gondrezick. Both players are former top-five draft picks but were out of the WNBA in 2023.

Reese is especially excited about the dynamic Carter brings.

"One thing about her, she always goes hard. I can say that," Reese said. "And she makes me want to go hard all the time, even coming in as a rookie. I always want to do that. I don't want to take a play off. Because I know when Chennedy comes in, she's a boost of energy."

Dallas will host Chicago again on Saturday.