Marina Mabrey knocked down a huge 3-pointer late on a night when she scored 20 points, and she carried the Dallas Wings to an 85-77 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday in Uncasville, Conn.
Mabrey’s corner trey in front of the Dallas bench with 3:05 remaining extended the lead to 79-72 for the Wings (5-2), who have won three consecutive games and improved to 4-0 on the road.
Mabrey was one of three double-figure scorers for Dallas, which trailed 39-27 at the half but battled back to survive a game that featured 11 lead changes and six ties. She produced her third 20-point game of the season.
Allisha Gray scored 17 and grabbed seven rebounds for the Wings, and Arike Ogunbowale poured in 16 points. Isabelle Harrison added nine points, all of which came in the final quarter.
The Sun (4-2) saw their four-game winning streak end despite getting 13 points apiece from Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones. Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman each scored 11. Jonquel Jones pulled down 12 rebounds, and Thomas had nine assists.
Dallas took the lead for good with 6:56 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Tyasha Harris.
The Wings started building momentum in the third behind a 18-8 run that was highlighted by Mabrey’s 3-pointer with 2:20 left that put Dallas ahead 53-51.
Brionna Jones’ layup in the final seconds of the period put the Sun up 59-58 heading to the fourth.
The Sun were playing without captain Jasmine Thomas, who tore her right anterior cruciate ligament on Sunday against the Indiana Fever and is out for the year. She averaged 6.6 points per game this season.
Even without her, the Sun looked sharp early, leading by as many as 13 in the first half.
Making her first start of the year, Hiedeman nailed her second 3-pointer with 2:10 to go in the half, giving Connecticut a 33-20 cushion.
The Tuesday game was the first of three in a row at home for the Sun, who will oppose the Wings again on Thursday.
–Field Level Media