Wings Downed, 88-83, by Sun
July 25, 2023 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Dallas Wings (13-10) fell, 88-83, to the Connecticut Sun (18-6) Tuesday night at College Park Center, snapping their five-game win streak.
Arike Ogunbowale recorded a team leading 25 points, as she played all 40 minutes of action. Ogunbowale's 25 points represent her 14th game scoring 20 or more points and ties her for the second most games with such numbers alongside New York's Breanna Stewart.
Satou Sabally earned her 13th double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Teaira McCowan joined her with a season high 21 points and 15 rebounds to record her fifth of the season. McCowan tied a career high with 10 offensive rebounds and became just the third player in WNBA history to have multiple games with 10 or more offensive rebounds in their career. Dallas has had two players record a double-double in eleven games this season, while no other team has had more than five games with the same occurrence.
Dallas' 18 offensive rebounds represent their most in a single game this season. The Wings are the only team in the league averaging 10 or more offensive rebounds (12.2) and continue to lead the league with their average of 39.5 rebounds.
With her three assists tonight, Arike Ogunbowale recorded her 500th career assist. Ogunbowale currently ranks 10th in the league with an average of 4.7 assists.
Veronica Burton saw her most playing time (15:21) since June 27. The second-year guard recorded seven points off the bench, her most since the last time the Wings played Connecticut on June 4 when she had 10 points. Awak Kuier's production off the bench proved equally important. Her length provided the Wings with two blocks and five boards that allowed her to record a team-leading +/- of six.
Dallas Wings Notes:
Dallas outscored Connecticut 40-36 in points in the paint, 24-15 in second chance points and 19-12 in fast break points.
Up Next:
The Wings will face the Washington Mystics at home on Friday, July 25 at 7 p.m. CT with coverage locally on ION and nationally on WNBA League Pass.
Score after 1st Quarter: Dallas 24, Connecticut 27
Score at Halftime: Dallas 42, Connecticut 40
Score after 3rd Quarter: Dallas 64, Connecticut 63
Final Score: Dallas 83, Connecticut 88
POST GAME QUOTES
Head Coach Latricia Trammell
On what was the turning point during the game...
"Three offensive rebounds and six points off those rebounds in those [two] possessions in the fourth. I think it was tied at the time, and so that was a two-minute stretch that I wish we had done better, and I know they do too. That's growth.
I'm going to go to this, but I have to give 'V' [Veronica Burton] and 'K' [Awak Kuier] credit, because they were that "X" factor that we needed. V understands her role, she stays ready, and I think anytime you have players like that who can come off the bench and stay ready - we're a good team, but that makes us a great team when we're able to do that. I have to give her a shoutout really quick, both of them for that matter.
On what the conversation at halftime was about with it being a tie game...
"We always talk about winning the third quarter, and that's something that we discussed. We showed them some clips from the first half, about six things that we needed to enhance, so I knew that they were going to go back to the slot pick and roll with 'AT' [Alyssa Thomas] and a little back door with some staggers. We just showed some areas that we could clean up and just took it one possession at a time, but we are always talking about we have to win that third, so I think we lost it by one point, I believe."
On how to keep Veronica Burton's momentum going after her performance tonight...
"She's doing it herself. She's a professional. That's a true example of professionalism. Her and I had a one-on-one conversation, not yesterday, but the day before. She's just such a great teammate. She's a great culture person, and for someone to be able to not play as much and continue to be ready when her name is called to come out and do what she did. That's a player that you want on the bench, and I'm extremely proud of her. I wish we won because I was going to give her the "Drip" chain for sure, but I bet you I'll have another opportunity."
On how the team plans to keep their momentum in the fourth after the critical third quarter...
"The third quarter was our Achilles heel, and that's an area of growth for us, I think we've won, maybe two, out of the second half games. Usually going in the fourth that would give us a good lead going in. I think it's just breaking the quarters into expectations, standards and goals. When we get to the fourth, we would set more goals. So, it's just about breaking down the game instead of saying, just win this thing."
On what Connecticut did to guard 'Teaira McCowan...
"They were just continuing what they were doing, sending people her direction and we knew they were going to do that. We got fouled, we went to the free throw line, we have to knock down our free throws. We left six on the table so that would've been a big boost for us. But 'T' is 'T'."
On why she made the decision to insert Burton into the game originally...
"I wanted to. I wanted to put her in the game and give her an opportunity because I know she's a defensive player and I thought she may be ready to bring that spark and she's been practicing really well. I looked down [the bench] and wanted to give her that opportunity."
On the enhancements they will look to make in practice...
"We'll continue to work on us and get ready to work on Washington. Shoot some free throws, execution and we'll watch film. The film is a big thing the players really like. We'll talk about our assists because fifteen is unusual for us. So, it's more of just film sessions and what we can enhance going into Washington, but I'll give them tomorrow [off] and we'll lock back in the day before."
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 25, 2023
- Wings Downed, 88-83, by Sun - Dallas Wings
- Late Fourth Quarter Rally Propels Sun Over Wings, 88-83 - Connecticut Sun
- Jonquel Jones Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week - New York Liberty
- Atlanta Dream Announce League-Leading Eighth Sell-Out of the 2023 Season - Atlanta Dream
- Dallas Wings to Host Celebración Latina on Friday, July 28 - Dallas Wings
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