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WNBA Dallas Wings

Howard Has Career Night But Wings Fall to Mercury, 104-96

July 4, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release


Arlington, TX - Natasha Howard scored a career-high 36 points and grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds, but the Dallas Wings fell at home to the Phoenix Mercury 104-96 on Wednesday night at College Park Center. The contest marked the halfway point of the season for both teams, with the Wings falling to 4-16 and the Mercury moving to 10-10.

Four-time WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale added 26 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Odyssey Sims tallied 13 points and a team-high six assists. Ogunbowale and Howard combined for 62 points, matching the Wings' season high for most points combined by two players (Ogunbowale, 40; Maddy Siegrist 22, at Phoenix, 5/25/24).

Dallas trailed by as many as 18 early in the third quarter, 61-43, before putting up 33 points in the frame to claw back into the contest. The Wings got within two, 76-74, with 1:39 left in the third, after shooting nearly 70-percent, including 50-percent from three, in the period. Howard scored 14 of her 36 in that stretch, while Sims chipped in nine during that 10-minute window.

Phoenix got its lead back up to double figures, 86-76, with 8:45 left in the game, before Sims and Howard narrowed it to a six-point game, 86-80, with 7:05 remaining. The Mercury led by nine, 90-81, before one more Wings push, as Dallas went on a 8-1 run thanks to Ogunbowale, Howard and Kalani Brown, to close within two, 91-89, with 4:27 remaining. The Wings continued to battle and were one possession away, 99-96, with under a minute left, before Kahleah Copper drained what proved to be the game-clinching three with 23.4 seconds left.

Copper finished with a Phoenix-best 34 points, including 3-of-4 from deep, leading all five Mercury starters in double figures. Natasha Cloud added 11 points and a game-high 10 assists. Phoenix shot .554 from the field and .478 from deep.

Despite the setback, Dallas had a number of notables on the night, including winning the rebounding battle by 10 - the third time this season the Wings have won the battle of the boards by double figures and second time doing so against the Mercury. Dallas took a season-high 34 free-throws and made a season-best 25, with Howard setting career standards for makes and attempts (13-17). The Wings committed just 11 turnovers, their second fewest in a game this season, while the Dallas bench outscored the Mercury's reserves, 16-5. Sims and Ogunbowale combined for 11 assists, with Dallas registering at least 20 dimes in a game for the 10th time this season.

The Wings shot .493 from the field but were limited to .294 (5-17) from three, with Ogunbowale credited for three of the team's five makes from downtown. Howard's double-double was her second of the season and first since a 15-point,13-rebound showing in the season-opening win over the Chicago Sky. In four games with Dallas, Sims has averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals.

Dallas held the advantage in points in the paint (42-36), second-chance points (22-10), and fast break points (11-5) - marking just the fourth time this season the Wings have outscored their opponent in fast break points.

The Wings' stretch of six games in 11 days continues on Friday when they host the Atlanta Dream at 6:30 p.m. CT. The contest will air nationally on Ion, with Ron Thulin, Fran Harris and ShaVonne Herndon on the call.

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