Marina Mabrey had a season-high 26 points and Teaira McCowan added 20 with 12 rebounds, as the visiting Dallas Wings didn’t let the absence of star Arike Ogunbowale keep the team from defeating the Chicago Sky with an 84-78 victory on Tuesday night.
Averaging 19.9 points, Ogunbowale sat with an ankle issue, but Mabrey went 9-of-19 from the floor, while McCowan posted her third straight double-double for the Wings (14-16), who shot 44.8 percent to win consecutive games for the first time since June 17 and 19. In the mix for a playoff spot, the Wings also got eight points and nine assists from former Northwestern star Veronica Burton to win their third straight road contest.
Kahleah Copper had 19 points while Emma Meessemen, Allie Quigley and Azura Stevens each scored 14 for the WNBA-leading Sky (23-8), which went 6-of-21 from beyond the arc. Candance Parker returned from missing two games with a non-COVID illness but had just eight points and two boards for Chicago, which used an 18-6 run to get within two with less than 30 seconds to play but couldn’t get any closer.
With Dallas up three at halftime, Mabrey scored the first five points of the third for a 47-41 lead. The Wings led by eight after three quarters, then Mabrey and McCowan scored eight of Dallas’ first 10 in the final period for a 14-point lead.
Dallas jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but thanks to Copper, who scored 10 points in the opening period, the Sky went on a 9-0 run. However, the Wings didn’t wilt as Mabrey recorded seven straight points for the visitors, who trailed by one after the first quarter.
But, Dallas scored the first four points of the second quarter to take the lead. Thanks to Awak Kuier’s six points in the period and McCowan’s continued dominance in the paint, the Wings never trailed in the second, led by as many as five points and took a 42-39 edge going into the break.
–Field Level Media