WASHINGTON — The Dallas Wings are flying high after securing their 3rd straight win on the road by beating the Washington Mystics 97-84 Sunday.
"It's growth... and consistency," Wings head coach Latricia Trammell said after the win. "We break the season into different chapters, and so we're here on that stretch where it definitely matters."
The Wings had six players in double figures: Arike Ogunbowale scored 17 points, Teaira McCowan 15, Natasha Howard 15 points, Crystal Dangerfield 14, Maddy Siegrist 11 and Kalani Brown 10. Satou Sabally added nine points and 10 assists.
Dallas led for nearly all of the first half against the Mystics, and a 12-4 run in which the rook, Siegrist, scored the first five points. Dangerfield hit the last five to give the Wings a 45-32 lead midway through the second quarter.
Later in the half, Dallas led by 16 before Atkins hit a 3-pointer to start a 10-4 Mystics run to close out the half, leaving the Wings with a 10-point lead.
The fourth quarter was a bit of a nail-biter for after the Wings went over five minutes without scoring a point, seeing the team’s lead that was once 20 points cut to 13. But then, Ogunbowale hit a pair of free throws and Veronica Burton added a 3-pointer to get Dallas moving again.
In the end, the Wings picked up the win and had some notable stats: Dallas’ bench outscored Washington’s 27-19, they outscored the Mystics 44-26 in points in the paint and shot their second-highest percentage from the three-point line (42.86%).
This win comes after another great showing against the Connecticut Sun, who were ranked above Dallas in the number three spot in the WNBA standing. The Wings beat the Sun 95-75 on Friday night.
Yet, the Sun, Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty have all clinched their playoff spots. The Wings look to be next.
“It’s a big win for us, just because it’s crunch time right now. We’re fighting for a playoff spot, so we just want to stay in the best position as possible, and I think we’re doing just that,” said McCowan in her postgame interview after the win against the Mystics.
Up next, the Wings will face off against the Minnesota Lynx for the third time this season on Tuesday, Aug. 22. The Wings won the last matchup 107-67. Minnesota is 9-8 against the Western Conference, and Dallas is 9-7 against conference opponents.
"They want it," Trammell said of the team's strive for a playoff run. "They know it's close between the four and eight [spot]."
