Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 points to lead a balanced attack as the Dallas Wings took charge early on and defeated the visiting Connecticut Sun 82-71 on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas in the final game for the teams before the WNBA All-Star break.
The Wings (10-12) never trailed after the opening three minutes and fended off every comeback charge from Connecticut, which entered the game with the third-best record in the league. Dallas had a 12-point advantage after a Teaira McCowan layup with 6:36 to play and easily held on for the win.
Satou Sabally and McCowan added 14 points each while Allisha Gray and Marina Mabrey scored 12 apiece for Dallas, which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Courtney Williams poured in a season-high 25 points for Connecticut (14-8). Brionna Jones hit 16 off the bench, and DeWanna Bonner and Jonquel Jones added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Sun.
The Wings led by as many as eight points on a pair of occasions in the first quarter, ultimately taking a 26-18 advantage into the second period after Sabally’s late layup. Mabrey scored the first eight points of the game for Dallas while Sabally added seven in the opening 10 minutes of play.
Dallas pushed its advantage to 32-20 on a jumper by McCown two minutes into the second quarter before the Sun started whittling away at its deficit. Consecutive 3-pointers by Bonner and Hiedeman pulled Connecticut to within three points; Ogunbowale answered with a 3-pointer and then a free throw to push the Wings’ lead to 41-34 with 2:49 to play until halftime.
The Sun scored the period’s final four points to get the lead down to 41-38 at the break. Williams led all scorers with 14 points by halftime while Ogunbowale led a balanced Dallas attack with 9 points over the first 20 minutes of action.
Two free throws by Ogunbowale at the 5:43 mark of the third quarter stoked the Dallas advantage to 53-42 but the Sun again rallied, fashioning an 8-0 run to pull within a possession. The Wings eventually took a 63-54 lead into the final period.
–Field Level Media