The Dallas Wings backed up their season slogan to ‘Pack the Park’ once again this evening and improved to 3-1 following a 94-89 win over the Minnesota Lynx at College Park Center. The 2-0 start at home marks the first time the Wings have won their first two home games in Dallas since 2018.

Natasha Howard led all-scorers with 25 points on 11-15 shooting (73.3%). Not only is Howard a leader on the court, but has stepped into the role of serving as the veteran leader off the court, helping the team to victories in ways other than her four straight double-digit point games.

“She’s been there and done it. She’s won multiple awards individually, but let’s talk about the championships and the world championships that she has won,” Head Coach Latricia Trammell said post game. “She’s the calming voice. She’s the vet. They respect her and they listen. She’s been through it all. So, hearing her voice and she’s even coming more into her voice. That’s something that I’ve been really impressed with and it’s something that I know that she’s going to continue to strive for moving forward.”

Howard made 7 of the Wings’ 10 second-quarter field goals and concluded the first half with 20 points on 9-10 shooting, tying her career high for points in a single half. Her 16 second-quarter points represent her career high in any quarter, beating her previous high of 13 points she accomplished three times with Seattle in 2019.

“My teammates were putting me in the right position at the right time, and I was able to take advantage of it,” Howard said.

The Wings dished out a season-high 22 assists tonight, with second-year guard Veronica Burton tying her career-high with nine assists. Sabally recorded five assists, alongside Ogunbowale who has vocalized many times these past weeks that her assist number were as aspect of the game she planned to focus on this season.

Satou Sabally recorded her second double-double of the season and ninth of her career after finishing the game with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The fourth-year forward opened the game with 15 points and three rebounds in the first quarter, which represents the most she has scored in a single quarter, beating her previous high of 14 in the fourth quarter vs. Las Vegas (8/25/20). Sabally concluded the first half with 17 points and beat her previous career high of 15 points in a single half.

Recently crowned Western Conference Player of the Week, Arike Ogunbowale, totaled 21 points and became the eleventh player and first since 2021 to score 20+ points in the first four games of the season.

Despite landing in Dallas yesterday and signing with the team this morning Kalani Brown made her presence felt immediately upon entering the game for the Wings. Brown made her first field goal of the 2023 season with 3:50 left in the third quarter. The basket represented the first in a 10-6 run that spanned from 3:50 in the second quarter to 8:59 in the fourth quarter that saw Brown score all ten Wings’ points. Brown, “a force to be reckoned with,” as Trammell called her, played a career high 26:52 minutes where she totaled 12 points and recorded a +/- of nine.

“I had her when she was a rookie, so that’s full circle to come back and be with me here,” Trammell said of Brown.  “She’s been away, but she stayed ready. She kept her value up and she did what she was supposed to do when she was here the first time. That’s really special because she’s a force to be reckoned with.”

In a fourth quarter that saw the Lynx inch closer to the Wings, Crystal Dangerfield emerged as the closer for the team as she was held scoreless through three quarters, but racked up nine points in under four minutes in the fourth quarter.

Ogunbowale and Sabally both are in the top-10 for points per game in the WNBA, at of the conclusion of tonight’s game. Ogunbowale ranks third the league in points with an average 25.3, followed by Sabally who ranks fifth with 22.3. Sabally is currently seventh in the W in rebounds, averaging 9.0, followed by Natasha Howard who ranks tenth, averaging 8.3.

The Wings will hit the road once again and head to Washington D.C., where they will take on the Mystics on Friday, June 2 at 7:00 p.m. CT with coverage on ION.