Those of us here in the states, fans of the WNBA and the Chicago Sky all know how exciting it is to watch the 24-year old talent from Temple. But Dupree is also dazzling fans overseas, so much so, they voted her into the EuroLeague All-Star game after only playing in 6 games (this season).

And as an added bonus to all us fans, she will also be a starter for the All-Star team.

Dupree was surprised and excited of her All-Star status and expressed her thanks to the EuroLeague fans.

Thank you. It was definitely not expected because I didn’t come over to Poland until November and then when the president and the GM of my team said, “Candice, you’re on the ballot for the All Star Game,” I was like, “Wow, I’ve only played in a couple of EuroLeague games (this season). And then to discover I will be one of the starters, well, I was pretty excited about that.

Congratulations Dupree

The EuroLeague Women All Star Game will take place in Paris on March 8, 2009

FIBA Europe: Interview With Candice Dupree

Announced Wednesday, Erin Thorn has signed a 2 year contract with the Chicago Sky. Thorn brings with her much needed postseason experience and leadership as coach Steven Keys continues to build a championship team.

Erin Thorn has a remarkable ability to get the ball inside and make plays happen which will prove valuable with the return of Sylvia Fowles. Thorn can also become a threat from the outside with her more than 50% shooting from the field during the 2008 postseason run by the Liberty allowing her to spread the floor and open up opportunities.

Thorn has been a key player in the success of the New York Liberty over the last 2 seasons. Selected by the New York Liberty in the second round (17th overall) of the 2003 WNBA Draft, Thorn finished the 2008 season shooting 34% from the field, 27% percent from beyond the arc, and 91% percent from the free throw line ranking 15th in the WNBA in free throw percentage. A dedicated veteran, Thorn improved her play on the court during the 2008 postseason playoffs shooting 58% percent from the field and 57% percent from beyond the arc.

The Sky tip off the 2009 season in Minnesota before they open the season up at home against the Atlanta Dream on June 12.

You can expect to see the Chicago Sky on a national television stage at least twice this season, July 23 against the Washington Mystics and August 25 against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Home games are in bold.

June -

• Sat 06 @ Minnesota 7:00pm
• Fri 12 vs Atlanta 7:30pm
• Sun 14 vs Seattle 5:00pm
• Tue 16 vs Connecticut 7:00pm
• Fri 19 @ Connecticut 6:00pm
• Sat 20 @ Washington 6:00pm
• Tue 23 @ Atlanta 11:00am
• Sat 27 vs Washington 7:00pm
• Tue 30 vs Sacramento 7:00pm

July -

• Fri 03 @ San Antonio 7:00pm
• Tue 07 @ Sacramento 9:00pm
• Wed 08 @ Phoenix 9:00pm
• Fri 10 vs Indiana 7:30pm
• Sun 12 @ Seattle 8:00pm
• Wed 15 @ Indiana 12:00pm
• Sun 19 vs San Antonio 5:00pm
• Wed 22 vs New York 11:30am
• Thu 23 @ Washington 6:00pm ESPN2
• Wed 29 vs Los Angeles 7:00pm

August -

• Sat 01 vs Connecticut 7:00pm
• Wed 05 @ Indiana 6:00pm
• Sat 08 @ Atlanta 6:00pm
• Sun 09 @ Detroit 5:00pm
• Fri 14 @ New York 6:30pm
• Sat 15 vs Minnesota 7:00pm
• Tue 18 vs Phoenix 7:00pm
• Sat 22 vs Detroit 7:00pm
• Tue 25 @ Los Angeles 9:00pm ESPN2
• Fri 28 vs New York 7:30pm
• Sun 30 @ New York 3:00pm

September -

• Fri 04 vs Washington 7:30pm
• Sun 06 @ Detroit 5:00pm
• Thu 10 vs Indiana 7:00pm
• Sat 12 vs Detroit 7:00pm

Chasity Melvin had 10 points, Tye’sha Fluker added 8, and K.B. Sharp and Armintie Price each had 7. Dupree also had 4 steals along with her 18 points.

The Sky came out solid and never looked back. In the 1st, Chicago went on a 13-2 run to end the period 21-6. By the 2nd, Dupree and Price lit it up to lead the Sky on a 13-2 run to close the half 44-17.

“We came out with a lot of energy tonight,” Perkins said. “We made a run at the beginning and then just took it on from there. We were pretty excited about that and our defense was key for that run.”

With 4:16 left in the 3rd, Price hit a free throw to give Chicago their biggest lead yet, 56-26.

By the 4th, Atlanta finally got into to gear and outscored Chicago 30-17 but it was a little to late to go for a win. Chicago held on for the victory, 79-66.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to smile,” said coach Steven Key. “We created better spacing tonight.”

Jia Perkins led the Sky with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Candice Dupree added 19 points.

Dominique Canty, who contributed 10 points, said that the loss hurt more than the others because they didn’t want to be the first team to lose to the Dream.

The game was exciting, going down to the last few minutes. In the first quarter the Sky had a 13-point lead but the Dream overcame that deficit and gained an 11 point lead by half time, 46-35.

In the second half, Atlanta was relentless. They were hitting all their shots and never gave up. By the fourth quarter, Chicago had gained a 1 point lead, 81-80, with less than 2 minutes left to play. But a few Chicago fouls later, Atlanta had a solid lead making a 6 point run to win, 91-84.

“We have to finish plays,” Sky coach Steven Key said. “There were several factors that contributed tonight, not just not getting rebound after missed free throws. We just couldn’t finish.”

Candice Dupree had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead Chicago past the Minnesota Lynx, 73-71 on Tuesday night.

Jia Perkins had 20 points and made a crucial late 3-pointer for the Sky, who have won consecutive games after a five-game losing streak. Chasity Melvin, starting in place of the injured Fowles, added 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Fowles, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft, hasn’t played since spraining a knee June 3.

“It takes a little bit of time to make an adjustment because Sylvia is such a presence there,” said coach Steven Key. “Although we only had her five games, they had to make the adjustment and so did we. But the biggest thing is, about a week-and-a-half ago, I told them there are no new plays, nothing coming from me. They have to take ownership of it.

“I think they are starting to realize it’s them, not me.”

With the teams tied at 67-67, Perkins made a wide-open 3-pointer with 1:35 remaining. Candice Wiggins hit a driving lay-up, but Dupree finished the scoring with a driving lay-up that she was able to spin off the backboard from a tough angle.

“I have no idea how it went in,” Dupree said. “I think it went in off the tip of my middle finger. I didn’t think it was going to go in, but it did. It was a big shot and we were able to get some good stops and get them to the free-throw line and force them to hit free throws.”

The Sky dropped their fourth straight to the Mystics and are 1-7 against Washington. Chicago shot 38 percent (20-of-52) and struggled at the free throw line, making only 16 of 29.

“It’s one thing if one person is missing all their free throws, but for the entire team to miss is killing us,” said Dupree, who added four steals.

Alana Beard scored 13 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter and the Washington Mystics snapped a five-game losing streak with a 64-57 win over the Chicago Sky on Friday night.

The Mystics (3-7) earned their first road victory of the season and won for the first time since May 27.

“I feel like it’s my job to hit big shots,” Beard said. “It’s been 16 days since a win. It feels really good and takes a lot of stress off me in particular.”

Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored 14 and Beard added three assists and five rebounds. The Mystics shot 53 percent from the field (27-of-51) and overcame 22 turnovers, including eight by Beard.

Beard was hot in the final 2 minutes, going 3-for-3 from behind the arc – including a buzzer-beating shot. Beard’s third 3 gave the Mystics a 63-57 lead with 14.7 seconds left.

“Alana had been pressing the whole game,” Mystics coach Tree Rollins said. “She was able to sort it out, in the fourth quarter especially. She found that (3-point) line and she was the great player that we know Alana is. She got us the win.”

After trailing by five, Washington used a 17-5 run to take a 50-43 lead with just under nine minutes left. The Sky scored seven straight points to get even at 50 with 6:41 remaining.

Looking good for the third year Chicago Sky but they can relate to the growing pains of the newly added expansion team the Atlanta Dream who have yet to chalk up a win this season.

“That was us two years ago and now we can laugh about it,” said Candice Dupree. “Obviously we can relate to losing games by 20-plus points and hopefully that won’t ever happen to us (again).”

Four players put up double figures against Atlanta; Candice Dupree scored 20 points, Jia Perkins added 19, Chasity Melvin with 12 points and guard Cathy Joens had 10.

After a 3 game losing streak, Chicago needed to put up a win or two. Against Atlanta they never trailed and in the second half the Sky kept a consistent 18 plus point lead over the Dream.

Injured rookie Sylvia Fowles is still out for the next few weeks with a sprained left knee.

Chicago shot 54 percent (30-for-56) from the field and out-rebounded Atlanta 35-24. Dupree, who also had six rebounds, shot 6-for-11 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line, and Perkins was 8-for-12 from the floor.