Paced by Arike Ogunbowale for the second-straight game, the Dallas Wings moved to 2-0 for the first time since the franchise moved to Dallas in 2016 following a 95-91 victory over the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on May 26. With 26 points on the night, Ogunbowale moved into fourth place all-time on the Wings’ points leaders list with 2,373.
Natasha Howard finished with five steals and four blocks to represent her second career game with at least those totals. She joins Lisa Leslie (3x), Tamika Catchings and Yolanda Griffith as the four players in WNBA history with multiple such games. After recording a double-double in the May 20 home opener against the Atlanta Dream, Howard was just a single rebound shy of number two as she finished the night with 17 points and nine rebounds.
“You’ve got to think that [Howard] is starting her 10th season in the league. I mean, she is that vet leadership,” Head Coach Latricia Trammell said. “This is her. If you follow her on social media, she said this is her family. It feels right to her. Even when she came off the court at one point just so I could give her a little break, I looked at her and I said this is your season. And she’s embracing that.”
Crystal Dangerfield, in her first start of the 2023 season with Teaira McCowan sidelined, recorded 17 points on 6-9 shooting (66.7%) with three shots from beyond the arc, which represent her most made threes since September 17, 2021 with Minnesota.
The starters, Veronica Burton, Crystal Dangerfield, Howard, Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally, combined for 85 points which accounted for 89% of the Wings’ scoring efforts. With the exception of Burton, who finished the game with nine points, the Dallas starters found themselves all scoring in double digits.
Jasmine Dickey provided all 10 bench points, hitting double digits on 5-6 (83.3%) shooting and doubling her previous career-high of five points. Dickey led the team with a +/- of 15.
The Wings team that tends to capitalize on an abundance of free throw opportunities found themselves at the charity stripe just twice in the first half. Despite the lack of free throws in the opening 20 minutes, the team finished the game going a perfect 13-13 from the line. The quantity may not have been there, but Head Coach Latricia Trammell believes, “Little things like that make a huge difference in this victory.”
Down nine points in the first three minutes of play inside Climate Pledge Arena, the Dallas Wings took off on a 24-7 run to close out the first quarter and secure a nine-point lead going into the second quarter.
The first half saw double-digit efforts from Ogunbowale who had 19 points on 7-12 (58.3%) shooting and Satou Sabally who posted 11 points on 5-9 (55.6%) shooting. The duo was joined by the three other starters who provided the additional 22 points of the Wings’ 52 they had at the half. Ogunbowale dipped into double digits in the first quarter alone, scoring 12 points during the Wings run that she piloted.
Dallas forced seven turnovers in the first half, an effort that was led by Howard who drew three steals, and took full advantage of them, scoring ten points on turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.
Satou Sabally, once again, came through with a game-securing block in the final seconds of play, and turned tonight’s into a tip-in layup that represented the final basket of the night at Climate Pledge Arena.
“I’ll tell you what, she’s having fun,” Trammell said. “That’s exactly what Satou will tell you. She has bought in. Tonight with the double-double – 17 points [and] 10 rebounds. And she’s just playing with tons of confidence and she knows this is a big year for her and she’s embracing that.
The Wings will wrap up their two-game road trip with a 5 p.m. CT tipoff against the Chicago Sky on Sunday, May 28. The game will be streamed live on Bally Sports Southwest Extra and NBA TV.