ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Satou Sabally is set to make her season debut for the Dallas Wings after recovering from a shoulder injury and playing for Germany in the Olympics.
The Wings said Wednesday that Sabally, Maddy Siegrist (broken finger) and rookie Jaelyn Brown have been medically cleared to return to the active roster when play resumes after the monthlong Olympic break. The team had to release second-leading scorer Odyssey Sims and Monique Billings since they were playing on hardship contracts because of the injuries.
Sabally and Brown, who played only the season opener before a nasal fracture and an illness, are expected to be in uniform Friday night when the Wings (6-19) host Connecticut. Siegrist should return Tuesday night at New York.
A 2023 All-Star who missed all 25 games before the break, Sabally averaged 18.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in four games in Paris. The 6-foot-4 forward suffered a shoulder injury in February while helping Germany qualify for its first Olympics.
Siegrist missed the last 12 games before the break because of a broken left index finger that required surgery. She was averaging 14.6 points in 34 minutes per game, way up from the averages of 3.7 points and eight minutes from her rookie season.
After winning a playoff series last year for the first time since moving from Tulsa in 2016, the Wings matched Washington for the WNBA’s worst record before the Olympic break, even after a 101-93 win at home over Caitlin Clark and Indiana in their last game. They have 15 games remaining and are 4 1/2 games behind Chicago (10-14) for the league’s eighth and final playoff spot.
Sims, a 10-year veteran who went through the same situation with the Wings last year before finishing the season with the team, averaged 17.2 points and 5.6 assists in her nine games this year. Billings averaged 8.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 24 games.