ARLINGTON, Texas — After a history-making season for the franchise, the Dallas Wings' WNBA season is officially over after losing 61-64 to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 3 of the semifinals.
It all came down to the fourth quarter of Game 3 to see if the Wings could pull off a win and keep their Playoffs hopes alive – but the team couldn't capitalize on free throws and a buzzer-beater shot at the end.
It was a back-and-forth battle of the defenses right at tip-off. Bunnies were not falling at either end of the floor.
The Aces' Aja Wilson, who was coming off a 30-point-plus games, was shut out in the first quarter only scoring one point from the free throw line because the Wings' defense was paying off on all fronts.
By the fourth quarter, Dallas had a 61-53 lead when Arike Ogunbowale made a running layup with 4:59 left. They didn't score again.
Wilson made a free throw with 2:56 left, but teammate Alysha Clark then rebounded after the second free throw was missed. The ball went to Chelsea Gray, who made a nifty pass to Wilson for the tying layup with 2:44 left.
Clark's free throw a minute later put the Aces ahead.
Ogunbowale, who finished with a game-high 18 points, came up short on a 3-pointer as time expired after Dallas was able to call timeout and get one more shot.
In the end, the defending WNBA champion Aces advanced to the finals for the third time in four years, scoring the game's final 11 points to beat Dallas. The Aces set a WNBA record with 34 wins during the regular season, with one of their six losses being against Dallas. They lost three times to New York, which has a 2-1 series lead over Connecticut — last season’s runner-up — in the other semifinal.
Notably, Wings center Teaira McCowan had 10 points and 15 rebounds. Her 15 rebounds are the second-most in franchise playoff history, tying Cheryl Ford. With her double-double, McCowan became the eighth player to have four double-doubles in her first five games of a postseason.
Reflecting on the success of the Wings franchise this season
Despite Friday's season-ending loss to the Aces, Dallas Wings Head Coach Latricia Trammell couldn't be prouder of her team and their journey this season.
“I think their connection, their buy-in and their willingness to do something different was special,” Trammell said in her postgame interview.
She spoke of Natasha Howard, an already three-time champion, who was traded to the Wings this season and her positive impact on the team. Against the Aces Friday night, Howard recorded 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
“With Natasha’s leadership coming in while coming into a new organization, I think about this journey and the team bonding she did, allowing teammates to come over, and doing whatever to make this a family atmosphere,” Trammell said.
And that's the culture, Trammell said, she looks to continue.
“I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this organization and a part of this team. We’ll learn from this. I’ll grow. They’ll grow and hopefully we’ll be back here next season," said Trammell.
She told the media that she's also proud of the individual successes of the Wings player: Satou Sabally named Most Improved Player, Ogunbowale leading in assists and Howard netting her first triple-double.
“I think the individual successes along the way that helped our team be successful. I think about Satou, she may have played eight or nine games last season, so to come back and have a full season is special. The growth of Arike... every player on this team has grown over the season," Trammell said. "You never want to be here feeling this way, but what a great opportunity to build off this going into next season that’s what I’m excited about.
Ogunbowale echoed those sentiments saying she's proud of this team, especially with all the new faces and it being Coach Trammell's first year.
"To finish in the top four at the end of the season is definitely big with this group," Ogunbowale said. "[I'm] Definitely looking forward to the future."
Ogunbowale said now that the team has more experience and it's a ladder to build upon -- hopefully climbing to a future championship for Dallas.
