By: Jonathan Donville

The Dallas Wings are looking to put an end to their recent skid as they welcome the Atlanta Dream to College Park Center on Tuesday.

Dallas enters Tuesday’s game after losing three straight contests. Most recently, they fell to Seattle in an offensive shootout 109-103 on Saturday. Arike Ogunbowale had a career high 41 points in the losing effort for Dallas, while Satou Sabally chipped in 25 points of her own and Natasha Howard added 20 points and 10 rebounds.

“We can score,” said Head Coach Latricia Trammell on Tuesday when asked about lessons they can take from the setback. “No matter what the defense throws at us, and that’s one (real) positive because we can get points from multiple positions, which is needed in this league.”

When asked if she was expecting 42 points this time from Ogunbowale, Trammell simply replied, “if she wants to, I’m all for it.”

Tuesday’s contest will be a rematch of the Wings home opener in May. Dallas was victorious in that one by a score of 85-78. Ogunbowale was again the star in that one, chipping in 27 points, while Sabally added 25 of her own. That game would be a sign of things to come for the young Wings duo. Ogunbowale and Sabally currently sit third and fourth respectively in league scoring rankings and have been the engine behind a Wings offense that currently sits fourth in points per game and fourth in offensive rating.

Ogunbowale said Tuesday that the ceiling for this group is high, but added that consistency will be a key. “I think we’ve shown spurts of it for sure, but if we can put four quarters together and streaks together, I think we will be really good come the postseason.”

Fans of up-tempo basketball will love this matchup. Dallas is playing at the fastest tempo in the league, followed closely by the Dream in second. Atlanta brings the sixth best offense rating to Dallas along with their hyper fast style.

Only a half game separates the two teams in the standings, as Dallas currently sits seventh in the league at 5-6, while Atlanta sits fifth at 5-5. With four teams sitting between 5-5 and 5-7, the parity across the WNBA makes every game crucial for the Wings.

The game will be a battle of prolific trios on either side. Atlanta is led by the three-headed monster of Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, and Cheyenne Parker. Counting Gray’s 187 points thus far, Howard’s 169, and Parker’s 158, the trio has contributed 60% of all the team’s points thus far this season.

Meanwhile for the Wings, Ogunbowale (258), Sabally (230) and Howard (174) have cumulatively scored 70% of the Wings total points for the season.

Depth scoring is a continued focus for Dallas. Despite Sunday’s prolific scoring effort, only five players scored for the Wings. Not counting two free throws made by Kalani Brown, the other 101 points were scored by four players (41 points from Ogunbowale, 25 from Sabally, 20 from Howard and 15 from Crystal Dangerfield).

Dallas currently sits last in the league in bench scoring but reinforcements are coming soon. Teaira McCowan is listed as questionable for Tuesday as she returns from overseas basketball commitments. With more options for Trammell, bench options like Dangerfield and rookie Maddy Siegrist will look to contribute in secondary scoring roles.

“We have some players on our bench that have had to grow up really quick,” said Trammell. “But it’s only when some of these players start coming back, our bench is even going to be stronger and in turn our team is going to be stronger.”

For Dallas, defense will be a major key in the game. Dallas currently sits 10^th in defensive rebounding and eighth in defensive rating. An area of focus is defensive transition, where the Wings are giving up the second most points per game.

Following Tuesday’s tilt, Dallas heads west for a road trip that includes a pair of games in Los Angeles, followed by a battle with the Phoenix Mercury.

Wings	2023 Matchup Stats	Dream
1	Wins	0
85.0	Points Per Game	78.0
36.5%	FG%	35.4%
30.0%	3PM%	28.1%
40.0	Rebounds Per Game	45.0
13.0	Assists Per Game	18.0
16.0	Turnovers Per Game	19.0
5.0	Blocks Per Game	6.0

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