Arike Ogunbowale led five Dallas scorers in double figures with 26 points and the visiting Wings thwarted a furious fourth-quarter rally to hold off the Seattle Storm for a 95-91 win on Friday.
Ogunbowale scored 19 points in the first half, including nine over a 17-0 run in the first quarter that gave Dallas (2-0) a lead it never relinquished.
Despite playing from ahead much of the night — and building a lead of as many as 17 points in the third quarter — the Wings needed a late-game defensive stand a put-back bucket from Satou Sabally to deny Seattle’s comeback effort.
The Storm (0-2) chipped away at the deficit throughout the second half thanks in part to Jewell Loyd’s game-high 30 points. The final five of Loyd’s output came on back-to-back scores, including a 3-pointer, that pulled Seattle within five points with 1:40 to go.
After Sabally was whistled for an offensive foul, Kia Nurse connected on a 3-pointer to cut Dallas’ lead to two points. Another offensive foul, this time on Natasha Howard, gave Seattle possession with a chance to either tie or take the lead in the final minute.
Sami Whitcomb missed a contested jumper, and after Arella Guirantes’ offensive rebound, Seattle was unable to get off another field-goal attempt before the shot clock expired.
On the ensuing possession, Sabally rebounded Crystal Dangerfield’s missed 3-point attempt and scored on the second-chance opportunity to effectively put the game away with 4.1 seconds left. The sequence gave Sabally a double-double, 10 rebounds to go with her 17 points.
Dangerfield also scored 17 on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Howard finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, and Jasmine Dickey added 10 points off the Dallas bench.
Nurse sank six field goals, all from behind the 3-point arc, and she finished with 20 points. Seattle’s Ezi Magbegor added 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
–Field Level Media