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Indiana Fever guard Erica Wheeler was afraid she would miss the Skills Challenge at the WNBA All-Star weekend on Friday, and sure enough, her flight to Phoenix was ultimately canceled.
"No airlines have flight leaving out in time to make it to PHX in time for the Skills Challenge," Wheeler wrote Friday morning.
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She mentioned that she knew someone who could have flown her there privately, but that individual's flying hours were capped until next week. As it stands, the 33-year-old is set to miss the Skills Challenge at Footprint Center in Phoenix.
A 2019 WNBA All-Star, she hasn't made much of an impact for Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever this season. She averaged 4.2 points per game, but still received an invitation for the event.
Microsoft systems worldwide experienced outages after a botched software update from the CloudStrike. The disruption caused delays at airports and issues in hospitals and banks across the globe.
"Damn it outage im so sorry Erica. I hope you can still make it there in time," wrote an X user.
Fans look for ways to rescue Wheeler's WNBA All-Star weekend hopes
Several fans rushed to her comments section to find a way to get her to the game, with several tagging Indianapolis Colts CEO Jim Irsay for help.
"@JimIrsay Can you help out Wheeler?" wrote one fan.
"A second tag for @JimIrsay," added another.
Before announcing that her flight was canceled, Wheeler had shared an update with fans:
It's unclear if Wheeler can somehow make it to the event which kicks off less than 7 hours from the time her flight was canceled.
WNBA All-Star weekend in Phoenix consists of a series of events slotted for Friday night. In addition to the skills challenge, there's also the 3-point contest and a brand new 3x3 tournament that will all kick off at 6 p.m. EST.
Brittney Griner will make her skills challenge debut and could benefit if Wheeler doesn't make it in time. 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones will take part in the 3-point contest for the third time.
Other contestants in the skills challenge include Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream, Sophie Cunningham of the Phoenix Mercury, and the newest member of the Connecticut Sun, Marina Mabrey.
