Dallas Wings Hold off Atlanta Dream
June 21, 2023 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release
ARLINGTON, Texas - Exactly a month after opening their season in Arlington with a win over Atlanta, the Wings (6-6) repeated the feat Tuesday night with an 85-73 win over the Dream (5-6).
Wings All-Star hopeful forward Natasha Howard led all scorers with 23 points, while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. Howard went 7-7 from the free throw line to record a perfect clip from the charity stripe for the eighth time this season.
Looking to be named an All-Star for the third time in her career, Arike Ogunbowale totaled 21 points and three assists in a fiery performance at College Park Center.
Defensively, the Wings held the Dream, who came in as the second-highest scoring team in the W to 73 points which was nearly 13 points less than their average.
In her first game back on the court for Dallas after missing the previous 11 games following her fulfillment of her Turkish National Team duties, Teaira McCowan recorded nine points and 11 rebounds, while providing two blocks. Off the bench, Brown recorded her second double double of the season, totaling 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Satou Sabally totaled 10 points, half of which came from shooting 5-5 from the free throw line. Sabally added four rebounds and four assists, while Crystal Dangerfield recorded a season high five rebounds and dished out five assists.
Dallas Wings Notes:
The Wings recorded 46 rebounds versus the Dream's 33.
All five Dallas starters ended the night with a positive plus minus.
Dallas outscored Atlanta 32-28 in the paint.
The Wings made it to the free throw line a season high 34 times.
Up Next:
The Wings will head to Los Angeles for two games against the Sparks. They face off first on Friday, June 23 at 9 p.m. CT with national coverage on ION.
Score after 1st Quarter: Dallas 20, Atlanta 15
Score at Halftime: Dallas 43, Atlanta 32
Score after 3rd Quarter: Dallas 71, Atlanta 50
Final Score: Dallas 85, Atlanta 73
POST GAME QUOTES
Head Coach Latricia Trammell
On what she saw from her team...
"Defense. I mean, you know, watching a lot of film and we were talking a lot about defense obviously, because that's an area of growth and that right there was a great defensive team effort, and I was very proud of them."
On what she is most proud of from tonight's win...
"I think I'm most proud of how they locked down some of their key players defending the three, that's probably - Rebounding. I mean, we outrebounded them 46 to 33 so there are just a lot of good things from our team defense."
On Arike Ogunbowale's defense on Alisha Gray...
"It was fantastic. So, I said their key players, right? I mean, she - That is one. Remember we talked about when we first started and so she has bought in and she's a great defender. And she proved that this evening that she can get done on both ends of the floor."
On what she saw from Teaira McCowan...
"I'm going to ask you again. What did you see? Yeah, you know T [Teaira McCowan] flew in late last night, and to be able to come in and contribute like she did. She just brings that great post presence, you know, rim protector. The team was so excited to see her this morning at shootaround. She definitely got a lot of big smiles and hugs. And she just was - When we first started this is the team you saw, you know what I mean, and so now we're getting those pieces back. So, it's extremely exciting."
On starting Crystal Dangerfield over Veronica Burton tonight...
"I think it was great. I mean, her [Dangerfield] and V [Burton] both are going to do the little things that make the big things happen that a lot of people don't notice. Thought about going a little bit more of an offensive side to start the game to try something different. Knowing that V is going to come in and bring that defensive energy off the bench and I knew this was going to have to be a good defensive game and so they both embraced it."
On Dangerfield and Burton's attitude on defending taller players...
"Yeah, I think they enjoy that. I think that's something that they have a great challenge. We all have faith in them, knowing that we have help if they need it. But you just think about Crystal and V getting posted up and just the little steals, being able to move around and think about the post players. That sometimes bothered them, you know, they kind of speed up because they're wanting the ball so bad because of the mismatch and so they held their own."
On what was said on the bench to get these technical fouls...
"To be completely honest. I've heard about 10 different things. But I'm not exactly sure what was exactly said."
On what Burton gave off the bench...
"We kind of went with that offensive push with Crystal, because like I said, Crystal and V, give so many of the non-negotiables and intangibles. And so, we knew this was going to have to be a great defensive game to win. And so, V coming off the bench and bringing that defensive presence, even though Crystal was a great defensive player, we just thought it would work out and throw something different."
On how Kalani Brown and Teaira McCowan complement each other...
"Yeah, you know, that's great because if you think about that lineup, we can probably throw different looks at different people. We can go small, play five out, and we can go with two bigs. I think we're definitely the tallest team in the league, but Kalani was so excited to see T knowing that we're going to do that at times and put both of them in especially depending on who's on the floor from the other team and they play extremely well together. And so, it's going to be a lot of fun.
On if she saw energy from the bench and players...
"All of those things. That was one thing that I told then in that locker room is just what a great team connection was proud of the bench. Was proud of the group that was on the floor at any given time. So that connection, that fight for one another was brilliant."
On keeping composure as a team...
"Yeah, I think that just experience from the bench. You know what I mean and coming in and learning that and growing from that, but I was so proud of them. I mean, I know you have a stat sheet in front of you. But that was a great contribution. I mean Maddie had three with four points. Jasmine had great defense to free throws. Ashley, you know coming in with the mask on trying to figure that out. I mean, it was just a great team effort."
On the amount of technical fouls called...
"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it. It's we'll go back, we'll turn some clips in and that's usually how we do it. You know, Greg [Bibb] will send some clips and get some clarity on certain parts of the game and we just to continue to keep our composure no matter whatever call is made and just continue to move forward. But we're going to enjoy this win, but I appreciate that question."
On how she carries the team throughout the long season...
"Yeah, I always tell the players don't get too high or too low. You know, because you're right. I mean, anything can happen on any given night. I mean, this is professional basketball, but we just continue to preach. We talk championships all the time. That's the culture that we want to create. And so, we just try to focus more on the positive than the not. And so, we've been watching tons of film trying to get the rest and recovery that we need, but the staff and I just continue to build players up, because this is a great group to be around."
On how effective Brown and McCowan are on the defensive end...
"Yeah, we'll definitely utilize their length and just their physicality. Often they do such a great job of using their bodies and sealing the defense and it's hard when you have two players like that on the floor at the same time, but also, it's really difficult when one's out there and the other comes in, and so you just continue that post presence so it's really exciting."
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