Wings Fall to Sparks, 97 - 89
July 1, 2022 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release
*** Part 1.1 - ASCII
Wings Fall to Sparks, 97 - 89
Arlington, Texas - The Dallas Wings (9-12) fell to the Los Angeles Sparks (8-11), 97 - 89, at College Park Center, Friday night.
Led by 2022 WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale's 23 points, the Wings had four players in double-digits, including center Teaira McCowan, who netted her third double-double of the season and finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Marina Mabrey also reached double-figures, as she put up 17, while guard Allisha Gray scored 10.
Dallas faces the Connecticut Sun (13-7) on Tuesday, July 5, at 7:00 p.m. CT at home, the team's last game before the WNBA All-Star game in Chicago on July 10.
Notables:
Teaira McCowan recorded her third double-double of the season, netting 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
2022 WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale reached double-digits for the 18th time this season, finishing with 23 points. It was her 12th game with 20+ points in 2022.
Guard Marina Mabrey scored 17 points tonight, her 12th game scoring in double-figures.
Allisha Gray netted 10 points, her 17th game in double-figures.
The Wings have made at least 10 free throws in all but one game this season, including 17 tonight.
DALLAS WINGS HEAD COACH, VICKIE JOHNSON
On the positives of the team this year
"We've missed Satou [Sabally] for the last two and a half weeks. Gray missed two games, when I thought we were on the verge of turning the corner. And so now [Sabally] has to work her way back in. Is it where we want to be? Of course not, but we're still in a position where we still hold our own destiny in a sense. I think that's the positive part of it. And we have the opportunity to see what we can be and what we can become. I thought the first half we played together. We moved the basketball very well. To end the half, we turned the ball over and they got it in transition and made some easy baskets. Then the third quarter, we forgot how to pass the basketball. We had one assist. The first half we had 14. The third quarter we had one assist, in the fourth quarter we had four - finished with 19. Then on top of that, 'Big T' [Teaira McCowan] came out the first half dominant. She didn't take a shot in the second half. KT [Kayla Thornton] as well didn't take a shot the second half. We settled for jump shots, and we have to make free throws. As many free throws we take during practice after every drill, it's a matter of focus and concentration when you step up to the free-throw line. There's no reason to be nervous. You're professional athletes, it's what you do - step up and make our free throws and we have to do that."
On Teaira McCowan's performance
"We didn't really do anything different. It was about us. Taking advantage of LA's weaknesses. At that time, they couldn't guard Big T, they couldn't guard the elbow iso. We went away from that - more drags, pick and pop. We settled for jump shots, we settled for putting the ball on the block. They got us in foul trouble and we didn't take advantage of them putting us in foul trouble. I think that's the biggest thing."
On her message to the team
"You just continue to preach and hopefully it'll sink in. It's not that we don't know because we know. It's just a matter of doing it. Knowing if you do it, you may not get to score or get the shot that you think you deserve. But at the end of the day, we're winning, and we will win. And I think we have to sacrifice in that area a little bit more. Winning over shots or stats."
On Liz Cambage and Nneka Ogwumike
"I think the biggest thing is our turnovers. I think they got out in transition a little bit more. You want to talk about Nneka and Liz, that's kind of a waste. They're that good. They're All-Stars, probably Hall of Famers. One at Stanford, one overseas. Liz has always been considered one of the best players in Europe. My concern is Katie Lou [Samuelson] and [Lexie] Brown [who had] 27 [points] together. That shouldn't happen. And their bench scoring 17 [points]. That's 44 of their 97. That's an issue more than Liz. If we could've held Liz and Nneka to 21 a piece, I'm satisfied with that. I'm not satisfied with Katie Lou and Brown, and the bench scoring 44 together. That's unheard of. That's discipline and lack of respect for players in our league. You have a uniform, and you play in this league, you can be very successful. No disrespect to Katie Lou or Brown or anybody on their bench, but we allowed them to get to their sweet spots. We didn't take it away from them. Katie Lou shot threes; Brown shot three for six from the three. That's what she does, that's her bread and butter, knocking down threes. Now we have to make her do something different and we didn't do that tonight."
On Satou Sabally's return tonight
"I thought she looked good. I think I ran her a little too long in the first half. She played around eleven and a half [minutes]. Probably too long, but she looks good. She's the type of player that plays with a lot of energy, moves well and can take a four off the bounce and knock down some shots. Overall, she looked well in the flow of the game. One thing I'm concerned about right now is the pace - pace is too slow. We don't want to play at half court like that. We're not built like that to play in half court. We're built to get out in transition. If it's a dead ball, we can put the ball on the block, attack from the elbow, but our pace is too slow. For LA to have a faster pace than us tonight, it says a lot."
On low assists and high three-pointers taken
"If we're not passing the ball in, we're taking threes. That's just what it is, that's the history of our team. We want to move the basketball. It's important for us to understand the importance of moving the basketball, having three or four passes, really sharing the basketball, making the defense move. And then attacking them with eight seconds left on the shot clock and getting to the free-throw line and making free throws. We're definitely taking too many threes. Tonight, it didn't show because we only took 19 threes, but before we're in there with like 28 threes. I think we just try to slow it down, we just took a lot of quick shots in the third quarter. One pass, shot - we can't do that."
On Arike Ogunbowale's performance
"It's just a matter of a mindset for her to focus her mindset. She's taking the same shots. It's just a matter of getting in a rhythm, playing in a rhythm. You got to understand that Arike every night is going to draw the best defenders and a double team and a trap. It's more of a mindset in how she's going to approach LA or Connecticut, it's not going to change her being aggressive. Taking away the defense and feel confident in her shots more than anything. There's nothing I can do, it's about her getting out in transition, attacking off the bounce, taking her time on her three, getting to the free-throw line. Probably in assists, creating for her teammates. Arike will be fine, she's a scorer. It's just a matter of her mindset being aggressive.
DALLAS WINGS GUARD, MARINA MABREY (17 points, four rebounds, three assists)
On the team focusing on being consistent
"I'm very positive about this team. This team is so talented, and we can say that all day every day, but I really still feel like we can get it right. And being part of winning teams and knowing what it's like to win, you can click right at the right time and that's all that matters. You can talk about 'Oh Dallas is inconsistent or this or that', but all it takes is us to click at the right time and I wouldn't want to play us."
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- Wings Fall to Sparks, 97 - 89 - Dallas Wings
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