Natasha Howard hit the deciding free throws in the final second as the Dallas Wings came from behind to beat the Las Vegas Aces 80-78 on Friday in a wild game in Arlington, Texas.
Las Vegas led by 11 points late in the third quarter and by six heading into the final period. But the Wings rallied to tie the contest on a putback basket by Teaira McCowan with 6:30 to play, setting the stage for a furious finish.
Dallas led 78-76 after a basket by Arike Ogunbowale and a free throw by Howard before the Aces pulled into a tie on Chelsea Gray’s stepback jumper with 59 seconds remaining. Both teams had empty possessions to set the stage for the Wings’ final push.
The Wings missed three shots before Howard grabbed their third offensive rebound in the possession and was fouled with 0.1 seconds to play. She canned both free throws to secure the win.
Ogunbowale led the Wings (9-9) with 21 points. Howard added 16 points and 11 rebounds, McCowan scored 14 points and took 12 rebounds, Crystal Dangerfield hit for 14 points and Satou Sabally had 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Kelsey Plum paced the Aces (16-2) with 21 points, followed by A’ja Wilson with 18. Jackie Young had 15, Gray added 14, and Candace Parker scored 10 but Las Vegas had a nine-game winning streak snapped.
Dallas was up by as many as seven points before Las Vegas forged a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by Plum to tie the game at 14 at the 4:37 mark of the first period. The Wings reeled off six points to go up 20-14 with 3:43 to play but the Aces owned the rest of the period, taking a 25-23 lead by quarter’s end.
The lead changed hands twice before Las Vegas pushed its advantage to 37-32 on a three-point play by Wilson with 5:52 to play in the second quarter. Las Vegas carried a 40-39 lead into the break.
Wilson’s 14 points before halftime led all players while Dallas got 10 points from Ogunbowale to stay close.
The contest was the second of a home-and-home series between the teams, with the first game an 89-82 victory by the Aces in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
