ARLINGTON, Texas — As the champagne sprayed during the celebration over their historic win against the Atlanta Dream, the Dallas Wings had another chant to focus on: "We're not done yet."
The team is now preparing to take on the defending WNBA champions Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals of the playoffs – the one team standing between them and heading to their first championship since the franchise relocated to DFW in 2016.
During a postgame press conference after beating Atlanta, Dallas Wings head coach Latricia Trammell praised her team and commented how grateful she was to be on this journey with them. But she got emotional when asked what her personal journey has meant this year. She's not only a first-time head coach in the WNBA, but she led her team to their first post season round two birth since the franchise relocated to DFW.
And during a press conference during their first practice ahead of round two, she continued to praise the Wings for keeping their high morale as they head into the series against Vegas.
“Not every team can do it,” Trammell said. “That’s why I’m so blessed and honored to be the head coach of this team, because they have stayed ready. They are enjoying this journey that we’re on – first time in franchise history. They are history makers.”
The second round matchup is a best-of-five series. The Aces will have homecourt advantage the first two games before heading back to Dallas' homecourt at College Park Center in Arlington.
Here's a look at the schedule:
- Game 1 will tip off Sunday, Sept. 24 at 4 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
- Game 2 will tip off Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
- Game 3 will tip off Friday, Sept. 29 at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
- Game 4 if needed is TBD
- Game 5 if needed is TBD
Trammell said her team is excited for Game 1 and is reminding them that they beat Vegas once already. But in their last meeting of the regular season on Aug. 9, the Wings suffered a 20-point loss to the Aces.
So, what is it going to take to win?
“Continue to do what we do, continue to play to our strengths. And that’s point paint, second-chance opportunities, rebounding … defensive transition is going to be big. We know how good they are," Trammell said. "It’s going to be a good game, but we’ve got to execute and keep our turnovers low.”
Trammell said the Wings' advantages lie in the their length and depth.
"Our inside out game," Trammell said.
But the Aces are most dangerous behind the arc. They are second in shooting the three ball, and the Wings are tenth at defending it.
Trammell isn't worried though. She said the Wings have recently gotten a lot better at defending the three-point line against teams with similar percentages.
Whoever comes out on top will play the winner of the Connecticut Sun, New York Liberty series.
When the Wings franchise was in Detroit (as the Shock), it won three championships (2003, 2006 and 2008). Now, it's time to bring one home to DFW.
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