Injury-plagued Dallas Wings deal with another setback as Maddy Siegrist breaks a finger
Connecticut Sun forward DeWanna Bonner (24) reaches a loose ball ahead of Dallas Wings forward Maddy Siegrist (20) during the second half of a WNBA basketball basketball game in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, June 15, 2024. Credit: AP/LM Otero
CHICAGO — Dallas Wings forward Maddy Siegrist broke a finger on her non-shooting hand in a loss at Minnesota, the latest setback for an injury-plagued 2023 playoff team near the bottom of this year's WNBA standings.
Siegrist sustained the injury to her left hand in the first quarter of Dallas' eighth consecutive loss Tuesday night but remained in the game and scored 17 points, tied for the team high.
There is no timeline on a return for the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, whose minutes and points are up significantly over her rookie season. Dallas continues a four-game trip at Chicago on Thursday night.
The Wings were the fourth seed in the playoffs last year and won a postseason series for the first time since moving to the Dallas area in 2016. The 90-78 loss to the Lynx dropped the Wings to 3-10, one win ahead of last-place Washington going into Wednesday.
The increased playing time for Siegrist came in part because of the absence of All-Star forward Satou Sabally, who is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and isn't expected back until after the Olympic break in August.
Siegrist, who was the 2022-23 NCAA scoring champion at Villanova ahead of runner-up Caitlin Clark, is averaging 14.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in 34 minutes per game. She averaged 3.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8 minutes as a rookie.
The Wings were already without guard Arike Ogunbowale in the loss to the Lynx because the league's second-leader scorer is dealing with Achilles heel soreness. Ogunbowale's season-opening streak of 11 consecutive games with at least 20 points ended in the previous game, an 85-67 loss to Connecticut.
Veteran forward Natasha Howard, a two-time All-Star, has been sidelined since breaking a foot in the opener.
Siegrist's injury left the Wings with just eight healthy players, so the club signed free agent Morgan Bertsch to a salary cap hardship contract.
The Wings signed Monique Billings to a hardship contract after Howard's injury. One of the hardship contracts must be terminated when an injured player is ready to return.
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This story has been corrected. A previous version reported incorrectly that Siegrist attended Penn State.