If it was not already, Sunday afternoon’s clash between the host Dallas Wings and the Caitlin Clark-led Indiana Fever has ventured into must-watch territory at Arlington, Texas.
While the Fever have been one of the WNBA’s top draws in 2024, Dallas’ late-season move from the cellar into contention for a playoff spot has its own built-in drama.
The Wings (9-22) are finally healthy and playing their best basketball after extending their winning streak to three games with in an impressive 94-76 home victory over playoff-bound Minnesota on Friday. Arike Ogunbowale scored 25 points and Satou Sabally added 18 for Dallas.
Natasha Howard scored 17 points and Teaira McCowan collected 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Wings, who limited the WNBA’s top 3-point shooting team to just 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.
The Wings reside two games out of the postseason with nine to play and are growing into a team nobody wants to face in the playoffs.
“When we step on the floor, we can beat anyone,” Dallas coach Latricia Trammell said. “We always talked about the light at the end of the tunnel and writing the story that we want to write when it’s time. It’s time, and they’re writing it.”
The Fever (16-16) have won three straight and seven of their last nine and are currently qualified for one of the four remaining playoff spots.
Indiana’s most recent victory was a dominating 100-81 decision at Chicago on Friday in which Clark scored a career-high 31 points and distributed 12 assists while Kelsey Mitchell added 23 points. NaLyssa Smith contributed 14 points and Lexie Hull had 11 for Indiana, which posted its highest scoring output of the year.
Indiana reached the .500 mark for the first time this season after it started the campaign with five straight losses and eight in its first nine games.
“It could have gone sideways real quick at 1-8,” Indiana coach Christie Sides said. “I keep saying it over and over — the character of people that we have in that locker room, they just weren’t going to let that happen. We just kept working on that and building on that. That’s kind of why I think we are where we are today. Just kept showing up, kept getting better, kept showing them where they were getting better.”
The Wings took the only other game between the teams this season, winning 101-93 on July 17 at home.
–Field Level Media
