WNBA Dallas Wings

Wings Lose to Sky, 89 - 83

Published on July 22, 2022 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release


Chicago, Illinois - The Dallas Wings (11-15) fell to the Chicago Sky (21-6), 89 - 83, at Wintrust Arena, Friday night.

Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings against the Chicago Sky, as she finished with 28 points. Since entering the league in 2019, Ogunbowale has averaged more points against the Sky than any other player, including getting her fourth game with 25 or more points against Chicago tonight. In addition to her scoring, Ogunbowale led the Dallas on the defensive side of the ball, racking up four steals and grabbing five defensive rebounds, tying her season high.

Three Wings frontcourt members rounded out Dallas scorers in double-figures, as Isabelle Harrison (18), Teaira McCowan (15) and Kayla Thornton (11) each poured in ten or more.

Dallas stays on the road to take on the Indiana Fever (5 - 24) on Sunday, July 24, at Hinkle Fieldhouse at 2:00 p.m. CT on Bally Sports Southwest Extra and NBA TV.

Notables:

Arike Ogunbowale poured in 28 points, her seventh game this season with 25 or more points (Tied for 2nd in the WNBA).

The Wings dished out 24 assists as a team, one short of their season high.

Isabelle Harrison netted 18 points (8-10 FG 80.0%) off the bench, her ninth game with 15 or more points.

Center Teaira McCowan netted 15 points, her eighth game with 10 or more.

Wings veteran Kayla Thornton scored 11 points for her sixth game in double-figures.

DALLAS WINGS HEAD COACH, VICKIE JOHNSON (FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2022)

On Allisha Gray's frustrations tonight

"I don't know. I mean she's very competitive, she takes pride in her defense. Tonight, wasn't one of her best offensive nights, but she rebounded the ball very well - seven rebounds and five assists, and she had two steals. She played well for us. The ball just didn't go in the basket. We had her guarding multiple people, one through three, and she played 33 minutes, so maybe she was just a little tired. I don't know to be honest with you."

On her takeaways from tonight's game

"They're the number one team and they're picked to win the championship and repeat. I thought our team played well. We could've limited our turnovers because they had 23 points off our turnovers. I thought we were aggressive attacking the rim. We went nine-for-nine from the free-throw line, but one thing I was preaching is to be aggressive. Don't rely on the referees to make calls for us. I thought that the second half we were called for a lot of fouls. We had 19 fouls in the game. That's too many fouls. We want to keep it under 15. But we shot the ball well. We had 58 in the paint. We had 24 assists. Those are one of the things we preach about every day. Shooting over 51 percent from the field. We did well in that area. I wish we shot the three better, but it was great to see our guards rebound the basketball. I challenged them and they did an excellent job in that area. It was great to see Izzy [Isabelle Harrison] finish in the paint as well, but it's really going to hurt us with K [Awak Kuier] being out and I don't know about Gray yet."

On Teaira McCowan's performance

"I thought she did well. I think we have to take advantage of her being on the court in a sense where they're going to attack her on the defensive side where we need to attack them on the offensive side. We need to put the ball in the paint, put the ball on the block, put her to work, and get people in foul trouble. I thought we didn't do a great job in the second half. We really need to put the ball on the block and let her work and get people in foul trouble."

On how to close games

"Moving the basketball, forcing the team defensively to rotate and now you make the right basketball play. You don't set up for a quick shot. You have to execute the last four or five minutes of the game. Execution on the defensive side and offensive side, now you can't let somebody cut back door, you have to play great defense, those things can't happen, I think it led to a three. Not moving our feet, fouling jump shooters. Now on the offensive side of it, put the ball on the block, drive and kick, those things are very important. Set a hard screen, dive hard, and see what happens. Force the defense to rotate. We just have to make basketball plays."

The team's performance tonight

"I'm very pleased. This is a great team. Candace Parker's a Hall-of-Famer and this team goes where she goes. Now they're missing Courtney [Vandersloot], not taking anything away from her, but Candace is a big piece of that puzzle. She's directing traffic not only on the defensive side but mostly on the offensive. She's getting people in the right sets and in the right place, which is huge and she's knocking down big-time shots as well so credit to her."

On the physical condition of the team

"At the end of the day it's basketball. It happens. We can't control injuries, the only thing we can control is the players that are ready to suit up and play, and we'll do our best to put the right team on the court and the right five that can play together for a consistent amount of time that can defend and rebound. Hopefully, our players our fine, but if not, we just have to go with it. We're all playing the same season, same amount of games, it's unfortunate. We can't dwell on that; it is what it is. Are injuries a concern? Of course it is, but it's out of our control."

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