MINNAPOLIS, MI- The Dallas Wings secured a win in Minnapolis against the Minnesota Lynx 92-87. The Dallas Wings came out in the first quarter of the game with great offensive looks as the team raked in 23 points to enter the second quarter. The Wings were up by nine points at the beginning of the quarter, which quickly escalated after Arike Ogunbowale’s three-point jumper assisted by Awak Kuier.
The defense was a key factor for this Dallas team as the Lynx struggled to finish in the paint. Minnesota also struggled to have shots fall in their favor which resulted in the Wing’s largest lead of the night by halftime. Ogunbowale had 19 points by halftime which led the Wings to lead 48-27.
Sylvia Fowles dominated both offense and defense as she rallied the Lynx offense with 7 points made four minutes into the third quarter. A lot of quick shots and small ball screen plays didn’t do the Wing’s offense too good as many of their shots were missed or blocked. The Wings struggled defensively on boxing out which led to this Minnesota offense on a twenty-two to ten scoring run. Arike Ogunbowales pull-up buzzer-beater ended the third quarter with a
Dallas lead 62-57.
Allisha Gray was fouled early in the fourth quarter which helped the Wings retain their composure after two extra points were put on the board. Dallas had more open looks in the fourth that resulted in shots landing.
Head coach for the Lynx, Cheryl Reeve called a short timeout after the Wings went on a six and zero run bringing the lead back up to thirteen. Allisha Grays’s electric ball handling kept the Lynx defense on the toes as they were unable to stop her.
In the end, Dallas was able to come out on top with a 92-87 victory.
The Wings were led by Arike Ogunbowale with 31 points and 6 rebounds. Isabelle Harrison, Kayla Thornton, and Alisha Gray all had double digits in tonight’s win as well. The team as a whole shot 47.8 percent from the field and 82.6% from the free throw line.
The Wings will head back to Arlington where they will host the Chicago Sky Saturday, July 16th at 7 P.M CT.
