By: Jonathan Donville

Tuesday proved to be a get-right game for the Dallas Wings in more ways than one as they defeated the Atlanta Dream 85-73 at College Park Center.

Dallas regained some players, some form, and some swagger, which have been missing lately. Natasha Howard and Arike Ogunbowale led the charge offensively for the Wings with 23 and 21 points, respectively. Dallas turned in their best defensive effort of the season as well, holding the Dream to 73 points on just 32.8% shooting and 4-18 (22.2%) from three in the game.

“Defense,” said Trammell on what she saw from her team. “Obviously that’s an area of growth, and that right there was a great defensive team.”

Tuesday’s game saw a makeover of the Wings starting lineup. Teaira McCowan suited up for the first time for the Wings since the home opener against the Dream. After getting injured in that game, she was out for a period before taking a leave to compete for the Turkish National Team. She arrived home to Dallas just a day before the game, but looked ready to play right away.

Meanwhile Crystal Dangerfield entered the starting lineup for Dallas, taking the place of Veronica Burton who came off the bench. Atlanta presented a tricky matchup for Dangerfield (listed at 5’5) as all five of the Dream starters are listed at 6’1 or taller. However she hung tough defensively and was a plus 10 in the game.

Trammell was impressed with both of her point guards and their willingness to compete aggressively on the defensive end.

“I think they enjoy that,” said Trammell of the challenge of guarding bigger players. “We all have faith in them, knowing that we have help if they need it.”

Late in the third quarter, Dangerfield dialed up an Iverson-esque crossover that left her defender shuffling towards the paint as she rose up and knocked down the mid-range jumper.

Ogunbowale, who had her own ankle-breaking crossover in the game, gave the tie-breaker to Dangerfield for highlight of the night.

“I’ll give it to Crystal,” she said.

McCowan acted as a safety blanket for the Wings perimeter players. After a rough start to the game, Dallas threw it into McCowan for an easy layup to get their first bucket. Then later in the half, Ogunbowale found McCowan on a deep seal under the basket. With her left arm blocking her defender, McCowan caught the ball with her right hand, palmed the ball, and deposited it easily into the hoop.

On another play in the second half, McCowan collected the offensive rebound on a missed Ogunbowale free throw and drew another foul. She caused Dream coach Tanisha Wright to burn a timeout to light a fire under her group and then cashed in at the free throw line. McCowan finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

“When we first started  this is kind of the team that you saw. So now we’re getting those pieces back. So is that extremely exciting,” said Trammell.

The Wings showed some uneasiness with the new starting lineup through the early going but settled in well. They turned the ball over on the first possession, missed foul shots on their next, then missed a jump shot, then two more turnovers after that.

But the offense bounced back in a big way in large part to another superstar performance from Ogunbowale. The shooting guard finished the half with 16 points on an efficient 6-10 shooting from the floor and 3-5 from three.

The defense was just as effective, limiting Atlanta to 12-38 shooting (31.6%) during the first half. Dallas was once again dominant on the glass as well, out-rebounding the Dream by nine in the first half alone. Atlanta hit just two field goals in the third quarter and by the end of that quarter, the Dream were shooting just 14-52 (26.9%).

Another wrinkle utilized by Trammell was to play both her centers at once. It was a strategic decision by the coach, as their short time on the court together produced some productive minutes, punctuated by a nice entry pass from Brown to McCowan for a layup.

“I think we’re the definitely the tallest team in the league,” said Trammell after the game. She also noted that the presence of McCowan and Brown give her lots of lineup options.

Rhyne Howard tied for the lead in scoring for the Dream with 15 points along with Cheyenne Parker. Natasha Howard for the Wings guarded the Dream forward of the same last name for most of the game, and was a main factor in limiting her production.

“Just limiting her touches,” said Howard on what gave her success. “First game when we played them [the home opener] she had some good looks and I was guarding her so I kind of took that personal a little bit. So I made it hard for her and I made her feel me.”

The two teams shot an incredible 77 combined free throws (34-33 advantage in attempts for Dallas) and 10 technical fouls were called. With frustration reaching a peak in the fourth quarter, Arike Ogunbowale was ejected from the game while sitting on the bench. She exited the court to arguably the largest ovation of the evening.

Dallas is back in action Friday for the first of a two-game set with Los Angeles.