Natasha Howard poured in 23 points and Arike Ogunbowale scored 21 before being ejected late in the game and the Dallas Wings were at their best in the middle two quarters on the way to an 85-73 win over the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
The Wings (6-6) led by 11 points at halftime and by as many as 25 in the third quarter as six different players scored over the first 4 1/2 minutes after intermission. Dallas’ balanced attack and a 46-33 edge on the glass allowed it to hold on in the fourth to snap a three-game Wings losing skid.
Kalani Brown added 11 points and 14 rebounds off the bench for Dallas while Satou Sabally had 10 points and Teaira McCowan grabbed 11 rebounds in her first WNBA game since the season opener.
Cheyenne Parker and Rhyne Howard scored 15 points each for the Dream (5-6), who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Atlanta had won four straight on the road and is now 4-2 away from home, with both losses coming to the Wings.
The Dream scored the game’s first four points before Dallas got on track, swooping to a 9-5 lead after a 3-pointer by Ogunbowale and two free throws by Natasha Howard. The Wings pushed their advantage to as many as six points in the period before settling for a 20-15 edge after 10 minutes of play.
Atlanta pulled to within 26-23 on a running layup by Allisha Gray at the 6:51 mark of the second quarter but the Wings ruled the rest of the period, extending their lead to 11 points after a three-point play by Veronica Burton with 27 seconds to play and taking a 43-32 advantage into the break.
Ogunbowale led all scorers with 16 points before halftime while Natasha Howard added 10 points and McCowan took eight rebounds for the Wings. Parker paced Atlanta with 14 points while star forward Rhyne Howard managed just three points on 1-of-9 shooting in the half.
The Wings stoked their margin to 21 points after a 7-0 run capped by a Natasha Howard layup with 4:41 to play in the third quarter.
–Field Level Media
