The Dallas Wings will carry a full head of steam with them when they wrap up a season-long five-game road trip with a showdown against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday afternoon.
The Wings head to Sin City after a stirring 68-51 win at Seattle on Friday that snapped Dallas’ two-game losing streak. Allisha Gray led Dallas with 18 points, while Arike Ogunbowale added 16 and Satou Sabally racked up 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Wings (6-4) won despite getting just nine points from their bench players, who combined to go 4-of-20 from the floor. Dallas outrebounded short-handed Seattle 42-31 as the Storm played without starters Sue Bird and Ezi Magbegor (both of whom were in COVID protocol) for the third straight game.
The Wings’ 42 boards were a season-high and the 17-point margin of victory was the largest this year for Dallas.
Dallas led by four points at halftime and then rang up 15 of the first 21 points in the third quarter to open up a 46-33 advantage. The Wings’ defense limited Seattle to 31.7 percent shooting from the floor and a season-low 51 points in the win.
“(The win over Seattle) was a building block,’ Wings coach Vickie Johnson said afterward. “It’s a step towards building what we’re determined to do this year, and we got to do it as a team. It’s very important that we do it as a team.”
The Aces return to the floor after a 97-90 home loss to Connecticut on Thursday that ended Las Vegas’ seven-game win streak. The streak was the team’s longest since the franchise moved to Las Vegas from San Antonio prior to the 2018 season.
Jackie Young scored a season-high 26 points but missed the final 9:47 of the game with an injured ankle. Kelsey Plum added 23, Dearica Hamby had 15 and A’ja Wilson tallied 13 to lead the Aces (9-2) in the loss, which was new Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon’s first home setback.
“We were tested tonight, and we failed,” Plum said afterward. “They just played better than us tonight. They came in and just played more physical than us from the jump.”
–Field Level Media
