Arlington, TX (June 9, 2024) – The Dallas Wings fell to the Phoenix Mercury in double-overtime, 97-90, Sunday afternoon at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. Arike Ogunbowale set the WNBA record for consecutive 20-point games to open a season with her 10th straight, scoring a team-high 25 points while playing all 50 minutes of the contest.
Dallas (3-7) found itself in a two-point game (trailing 56-54) entering the fourth quarter for the second straight game. Ogunbowale scored nine in the fourth alone, including a game-tying three-pointer with under a minute to go. After Brittney Griner missed the free-throw of an and-one with 33.8 seconds left in regulation, the Wings had opportunities to end it against the Mercury (6-6) but a pair of missed attempts sent the game into the first overtime period.
The Wings struck first in OT with a Maddy Siegrist jumper, followed by a free-throw by Ogunbowale to give Dallas an 81-78 advantage. Phoenix responded with a 5-0 run to lead 83-81 with under two minutes to play, before Ogunbowale tied it up again. Griner put the Mercury back up with 21.7 left in the first overtime period, before Teaira McCowan sent the game into a second overtime frame with a layup with under 12 seconds remaining. Phoenix struck first in the second OT and would hold the lead throughout the final five minutes to steal the road victory.
The back-and-forth battle featured 16 ties and 18 lead changes with neither team leading by more than nine at any point. The Wings went into double-OT for the first time since July 16, 2017, while playing their first overtime game of the season.
All five Wings starters finished in double figures for the second time this season, with McCowan notching her second 20-point game of the season with 20 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Siegrist scored in double figures for the seventh consecutive game, finishing with 12 points and three boards. Monique Billings had her fourth double-double of the season (10 points, game-high 11 rebounds), while Sevgi Uzun had 11 points and two assists. Kalani Brown added eight points off the bench.
Ogunbowale’s 10-game 20-point streak to open the year passes Cynthia Cooper’s previous WNBA standard of nine consecutive 20-point games to begin a season, set in 1999 with the Houston Comets.
Dallas finished with a season-high 25 assists with Ogunbowale leading the way with her season-best 10 dimes to mark her first points-assists double-double since Sept. 8, 2023. The Wings shot .474 from the field for their finest shooting performance since a .516 clip at Connecticut on May 31, while winning the rebounding battle (36-29) for the seventh time this season.
Phoenix’s Kahleah Copper had a game-high 29 points while Griner had 24 points and nine boards. The Mercury shot .462 from the field but committed 22 turnovers – the most for a Wings opponent this season.
Dallas remains at home for the next two games beginning on Thursday with a 6 p.m. CT tilt against the Seattle Storm at College Park Center. That game will air live on ESPN.