LAS VEGAS — Dana Evans remembers when Chicago won the WNBA title in 2021. With it came a seven-game losing skid near the start of the season, dropping the Sky to 2-7 in early June.
Then, later in the season, a pair of 1-4 slides late in the season dropped the Sky to 15-16 before they ended the campaign with a .500 record, at 16-16.
“We would just continue to tell each other we have to keep pushing, it’s going to come together when we need it to,” said Evans, who was part of the Sky team that went 8-2 in the postseason to win the franchise’s first-ever WNBA title.
“I feel like now it’s coming together at the right time,” Evans also said about the Aces, who have endured an unexpectedly topsy-turvy season that has them fighting for a playoff berth. “I feel like we’re playing our best basketball now.”
And the sixth-year pro has a lot to do with it, having made the most of her 17.7 minutes per game in her first year with Las Vegas.
Evans, who is averaging 6.3 points and 2.1 assists per game off the bench, has either turned in spot performances that end with double-digits in the scoring department or key moments that spark the likes of A’ja Wilson or Jackie Young at the right time.
Like Sunday, when Connecticut wouldn’t go away, and with an eight-point lead, Evans crossed up Sun stalwart Marina Mabrey and stepped into the opening to drain a mid-range bucket to not only push the lead to double digits, but essentially serve the dagger with a little more than 3 minutes left. The Aces would go on to beat the Sun 94-86, in a game Wilson would become the first player in WNBA history to register a 30-20 double-double.
But Evans’ performance not only helped trigger a win, but it also earned the 5-foot-6 guard her first start with the Aces on Wednesday against the New York Liberty. She finished with eight points in the 83-77 win over the defending champions.
“Her ability to impact the game on both ends is a different imprint that we have with any other person out there,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “When she comes in and gives us that punch, things start looking up for us.”
Evans leans on her experience when stepping on the floor with a fearless nature, regardless of the opponent, but said the confidence she rides starts with her faith.
“I feel like when I glorify Him and I give him all the thanks and everything, it just comes back 10 times for me,” she said. “Also, I feel like hard work. When you put the time in, you’re confident because you put these reps in time and time again – late nights in the gym, early mornings – all of that stuff pays off.”
Wilson said Evans doesn’t just fill a role when she comes in for Young, Jewell Loyd or Chelsea Gray, and adds another dimension to whatever lineup is on the floor.
Wilson said being able to trust Evans on both sides of the basketball has been beneficial for the Aces, as a much-needed spark plug when the starters need a breather.
“We love her pace that she plays with, her energy that she plays with, because we feed off that,” the reigning MVP said. “So when I see her doing those things, it comes by no surprise, because in practice I see it every single day.
“But that’s Dee, those are the little things that she does that may not always show up on the stat sheet, but she definitely knows the times when she could really just be herself.”
Being herself is something the 27-year-old said comes very easily with this organization, as it’s been the perfect culture to transition to since being acquired by Las Vegas for draft picks during the offseason.
Which is another reason she believes we’ve yet to see the Aces’ best basketball, as it’s the locker-room chemistry that’s been built and that will spurn a strong late-season run into the playoffs.
“It’s been amazing,” Evans said. “I have no negative things to say about this organization, from the players, from the staff, everyone does their job. They’re always there for you when you need them. Everybody’s on top of everything, and we have all the tools that we need.
“I feel like we believe in each other, we have confidence in each other. So there’s no reason we can’t be successful.”
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