By: Jonathan Donville

Poor shooting and uncharacteristic turnovers hurt the Dallas Wings as they fell to the Los Angeles Sparks, 79-61, Wednesday afternoon at College Park Center.

Dallas’ 61 points were their fewest this season. The Wings as a team shot 25-69 (36.2%) from the field and sunk just four of their 21 three-point shots. Kalani Brown led the Wings offensively with a career high 21 points and chipped in 11 rebounds. Working the ball inside to Brown was the most effective offensive tool for the Wings on an otherwise frustrating afternoon.

“They were comfortable on offense,” said Brown after the game. “I think they made us uncomfortable on offense and we didn’t fight back with that answer. We didn’t have an answer for that.”

Reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, Satou Sabally, added her seventh straight double-double, finishing with 14 points and 13 boards. Arike Ogunbowale chipped in 13 points of her own.

Sabally said after the game that several Wings players stayed after the game to shoot in the practice gym in an effort to flush the frustrating shooting on Wednesday from memory.

“This is not who we are,” said Sabally after the game in regard to the shooting. “We will learn from this, and people will watch the game and see what they could have adjusted. But on Saturday, it’s really go time.”

Wednesday was the annual Camp Day for the Wings, which brought more than 3,000 campers from local youth groups to College Park Center. With the decibel level cranked and the pitch raised, the young crowd certainly made their presence felt in the game.

While the crowd was predictably excitable, the Wings showed some restless energy of their own. Dallas entered the game committing the fewest turnovers in the league, just 12.8 per game. Dallas committed 12 in the first half alone and 18 total, which converted to 22 points for the Sparks. During one stretch in the first half, the Wings turned it over on five consecutive possessions.

Sabally discussed the turnovers after the game, saying it was a timing issue for the Wings. She was the first to hold herself accountable for her own turnovers.

“Our flow was off today,” she said. “I think that’s how turnovers result, we were just kind of sped up in our decision making.

The Sparks shot the ball well all first half, finishing 16-32 from the field. Once again however, the Wings kept themselves in the game by dominating the glass. They outrebounded the Sparks 20-10 in the first half, including 6-1 on the offensive glass. Dallas entered the game first in the league in rebounding and continued the trend Wednesday afternoon.

When the Sparks went on their runs, Dallas couldn’t find reliable offense to answer.

“You got to keep going because basketball is a game of runs,” said Brown. “We have to be able to answer. And I don’t think we did a good job of doing that.”

The rebounding was one of the lone bright spots for the Wings. They finished the game plus 11 in total rebounds, plus nine in offensive rebounds and enjoyed a 18-2 advantage in second chance points.

Dearica Hamby was impressive for the Sparks, using a variety of scoop shots and layups to get around the bigger Dallas defenders in the paint. Hamby finished with a game high 23 points. Nneka Ogwumike chipped in 20 of her own to propel the Sparks to victory. 7

Meanwhile Dallas struggled to finish around the rim, finishing 19-42 in the paint. The loss brought Dallas down to 5-5 on the season, while the Sparks improved to 5-4 on the year.

Coach Trammell said on Tuesday that transition defense was an area the Wings needed to improve, and it was once again an issue on Wednesday. Dallas was outscored 14-3 on fast break points, an issue only exacerbated by the turnover differential.

Wednesday also marked the fourth Commissioner’s Cup game of the season for the Wings. Dallas was previously 3-0 and will now sit second in the cup standings behind the Las Vegas Aces.

When asked what the discussion was in the locker room, Sabally said it focused on accountability. “It is time to establish a winning culture,” she said. “If we really want to be great, then I think it’s time to see that accountability within yourself and within your teammates and being able to translate our game plan into actual action.

The Wings are back in action Saturday afternoon when they take on the Seattle at College Park Center.