# 2006 Chicago Sky season

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. On September 20, 2005, the Chicago franchise announced their team name to be the Sky.
Dave Cowens was named the first head coach of the Sky. 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. Cowens left the team following the year.

## Transactions
### Expansion draft

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.
| Player | Nationality | Nationality |
| Jia Perkins | United States | Charlotte Sting |
| Brooke Wyckoff | United States | Connecticut Sun |
| Elaine Powell | United States | Detroit Shock |
| Kiesha Brown | United States | Houston Comets |
| Deanna Jackson | United States | Indiana Fever |
| Laura Macchi | Italy | Los Angeles Sparks |
| Stacey Lovelace-Tolbert | United States | Minnesota Lynx |
| DeTrina White | United States | New York Liberty |
| Ashley Robinson | United States | Phoenix Mercury |
| Chelsea Newton | United States | Sacramento Monarchs |
| Bernadette Ngoyisa | Republic of the Congo | San Antonio Silver Stars |
| Francesca Zara | Italy | Seattle Storm |
| Stacey Dales-Schuman | Canada | Washington Mystics |

### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 6 | Candice Dupree | United States | Temple |
| 2 | 20 | Jennifer Harris | United States | Washburn |
| 3 | 34 | Kerri Gardin | United States | Virginia Tech |

### Trades and roster changes

| 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 |
| May 1, 2006 | Signed Holly Tyler and Julie McBride |
| May 1, 2006 | Waived Steffanie Blackmon |
| May 4, 2006 | Waived Holly Tyler |
| May 8, 2006 | Signed Tera Bjorklund |
| May 12, 2006 | Claimed Rita Williams off of waivers |
| May 12, 2006 | 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 |
| May 16, 2006 | 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 |
| June 29, 2006 | Traded Ashley Robinson to the Seattle Storm in exchange for Cisti Greenwalt and the 20th pick in the 2007 WNBA draft |
| June 29, 2006 | 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 |

## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| C | Bernadette Ngoyisa | Stacey Lovelace |
| PF | Candice Dupree | Liz Moeggenberg Deanna Jackson |
| SF | Amanda Lassiter | Brooke Wyckoff Katie Cronin |
| SG | Stacey Dales | Chelsea Newton Elaine Powell |
| PG | Jia Perkins | Coretta Brown |

## Schedule
### Regular season

2006 Regular Season Schedule Total: 5–29 (Home: 3–14; Road: 2–15) :
May: 1–3 (Home: 0–3; Road: 1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1
May 20
@ Charlotte
83-82
Candice Dupree (19)
Candice Dupree (6)
Elaine Powell (3)
Time Warner Cable Arena 6,010
1-0
2
May 23
Sacramento
63-76
Stacey Lovelace (11)
Ashley Robinson (8)
Elaine Powell (7)
UIC Pavilion 5,112
1-1
3
May 26
Indiana
60-75
Jia Perkins (16)
Ashley Robinson (7)
Powell Newton Perkins (3)
UIC Pavilion 3,151
1-2
4
May 30
Los Angeles
55-64
Jia Perkins (12)
Stacey Lovelace (11)
Brooke Wyckoff (4)
UIC Pavilion 3,086
1-3 :
June: 1–10 (Home: 1–4; Road: 0–6)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
28
August 1
Phoenix
70-90
Stacey Lovelace (14)
Bernadette Ngoyisa (9)
Liz Moeggenberg (4)
UIC Pavilion 5,219
4-24
29
August 4
Detroit
49-76
Stacey Lovelace (10)
Bernadette Ngoyisa (8)
Liz Moeggenberg (3)
UIC Pavilion 3,455
4-25
30
August 5
@ New York
69-80
Candice Dupree (24)
Candice Dupree (6)
Chelsea Newton (5)
Madison Square Garden 8,872
4-26
31
August 8
Connecticut
59-85
Bernadette Ngoyisa (11)
Candice Dupree (10)
Brown Dales (4)
UIC Pavilion 3,520
4-27
32
August 10
@ Detroit
48-82
Candice Dupree (12)
Stacey Lovelace (7)
Amanda Lassiter (3)
Palace of Auburn Hills 11,226
4-28
33
August 12
@ Charlotte
57-84
Bernadette Ngoyisa (23)
Dupree Ngoyisa (10)
Coretta Brown (4)
Time Warner Cable Arena 8,339
4-29
34
August 13
@ Indiana
80-73
Candice Dupree (24)
Chelsea Newton (9)
Amanda Lassiter (5)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 8,381
5-29 :

## Standings

| Eastern Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| z - Connecticut Sun | 26 | 8 | .765 | – | 14–3 | 12–5 | 15–5 |
| x - Detroit Shock | 23 | 11 | .676 | 3.0 | 14–3 | 9–8 | 14–6 |
| x - Indiana Fever | 21 | 13 | .618 | 5.0 | 12–5 | 9–8 | 12–8 |
| x - Washington Mystics | 18 | 16 | .529 | 8.0 | 13–4 | 5–12 | 12–8 |
| e - New York Liberty | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15.0 | 7–10 | 4–13 | 7–13 |
| e - Charlotte Sting | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15.0 | 7–10 | 4–3 | 6–14 |
| e - Chicago Sky | 5 | 29 | .147 | 21.0 | 3–14 | 2–15 | 4–16 |

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Candice Dupree | 34 | 31 | 30.4 | 45.7 | 0.0 | 77.9 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 13.7 |
| Bernadette Ngoyisa | 30 | 23 | 20.9 | 52.8 | 0.0 | 59.2 | 5.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 10.1 |
| Jia Perkins | 30 | 27 | 28.0 | 35.1 | 27.7 | 80.6 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 9.4 |
| Amanda Lassiter | 32 | 29 | 24.4 | 36.6 | 32.9 | 71.0 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 8.0 |
| Stacey Lovelace | 34 | 6 | 18.5 | 41.5 | 30.2 | 78.6 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 7.4 |
| Stacey Dales | 23 | 16 | 19.7 | 35.4 | 30.9 | 69.6 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 7.0 |
| Chelsea Newton | 27 | 11 | 24.0 | 33.5 | 26.5 | 73.8 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 6.5 |
| Deanna Jackson | 22 | 1 | 15.0 | 39.5 | 33.3 | 64.7 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 6.0 |
| Elaine Powell | 14 | 3 | 18.1 | 43.3 | 0.0 | 70.8 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 4.9 |
| Brooke Wyckoff | 15 | 13 | 22.9 | 24.2 | 23.3 | 80.0 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 3.3 |
| Coretta Brown | 15 | 2 | 16.8 | 27.1 | 27.3 | 50.0 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 3.2 |
| Katie Cronin | 11 | 0 | 12.1 | 30.0 | 30.8 | 28.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 2.2 |
| Liz Moeggenberg | 27 | 1 | 10.1 | 31.7 | 33.3 | 46.7 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 2.1 |
| Nikki McCray | 11 | 2 | 7.5 | 36.4 | 20.0 | 71.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 2.0 |
| Ashley Robinson | 12 | 5 | 10.4 | 31.0 | 100.0 | 33.3 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.8 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
| Candice Dupree | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 11 | |
| Candice Dupree | WNBA All-Rookie Team | August 20 | |