LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — The Dallas Wings started their season with a bang defeating the Los Angeles Sparks 94-71.
The last time the Dallas Wings took the floor it was last summer in the midst of global pandemic and during a time the country was split right down the middle. All of those things culminated an entire movement that was led mainly by the players of the WNBA, and that is what makes year 25 of the WNBA so special.
When the league announced the schedule it promised a star-studded weekend lineup that would not disappoint. The Wing’s had the honor of opening the 25th WNBA season on opening night against the Sparks in LA and also marked Vickie Johnson’s first game as head coach for the Wings.
It was expected that the rust would need to be shaken off and that was proven to be true as the Sparks controlled the game from the early parts of the game. The Sparks intentionally made it difficult for the Wings to get the ball inside to their #1 overall pick Charli Collier which forced Dallas to find another way to score the ball and be more productive. In the process of the Wings making adjustments, turnovers plagued the functionality of their offense and gave the Sparks the early edge to take a 7 point lead over the Wings to end the first quarter.
The Wings picked up their play in the second quarter and flipped their deficit into a 2 point lead at the end of the first half. Dallas thrived in transition and had a certain speed to their game that the Sparks just couldn’t match. Allisha Gray was the catalyst behind the Wings swing in momentum scoring 12 second quarter points after scoring just 5 points in the first. The turnovers continued to hold the Wings back and truly strained their potential, with the Sparks scoring 17 points off of 20 Wing turnovers in the first half.
The Wings played an uneven first half but played well considering and held their own even without players missing in the lineup.
After a solid first half it didn’t take long for the Wings to take control of the game. After struggling in the first two quarters the Wings franchise player and last year’s MVP Arike Ogunbowale balled out. Ogunbowale scored 10 third quarter points after registering just 3 points in the first half. Charli Collier also found some success securing boards on the offensive end and getting to the free throw line scoring 6 third quarter points. The Wings energy carried them and helped finish the third quarter leading the Sparks 70-60.
Arike Ogunbowale could not miss in the fourth quarter and led the Wings on a 11-4 run to open the fourth quarter. Much credit should go to how well the Wings played on the defensive end. Instead of them taking the hit on turnovers like they did in the first quarter they flipped it and returned the favor. The Wings led the Sparks by almost 19 points with just more than 3 minutes left in the game and Dallas made sure to close the lid on any hopes the Sparks had of igniting a spark to get back in the game.
The leading scorers for tonight was Allisha Gray with 23 points and Arike Ogunbowale with 17 points with the duo combining to score 40 points. Charli Collier finished her first career game with a double double and the Wings bench contributed a total of 31 points.
The Wings begin this special season with a big time win on the road and a full season ahead of them. Tonight, the Wings showed how much potential and talent they have as a young group, but it will take time to get a full sample size, but this a solid start in the right direction. At the end of the day it’s all about setting the tone and the Wings set the proper tone to the beginning of their season.
