ARLINGTON, Texas — After another historic performance on their homecourt in Arlington, the Dallas Wings are now on a five-game winning streak after beating the Los Angeles Sparks 98-84 Saturday night.
The win streak ties the Wings' longest win streak since the team relocated to Dallas in 2016.
“We’re just in that winning mentality and it’s contagious, right? Players are having fun and want to win. Home floor means something to them, and they knew we had to take care of business at home," Dallas Wings head coach Latricia Trammell said in her postgame interview.
"Even though we won three on the road, which was definitely growth for us, and we have another big one coming up here on Tuesday, but really just ecstatic for this team," she said. "Multiple players stepped up at multiple times, which is fantastic. When you have a team like that great things are going to happen. I’m really proud of them.”
And the team's "Big 3," comprised of Arike Ogunbowale, Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard, each scored at least 25 points, becoming the second trio of teammates in WNBA history to do so.
Ogunbowale scored 12 of her 25 points in the third quarter as Dallas pulled away from the Sparks.
Sabally added 26 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while Natasha Howard had 28 points and 11 rebounds. She also had four steals for the Wings (13-9), who have won seven of their last eight games.
By grabbing 11 boards and recording a double-double, Howard and Sabally became the first pair of teammates in league history to each have 25-plus points and 11-plus rebounds in the same game.
The three (Ogunbowale, Sabally and Howard) scored 79 of Dallas' 98 points, totaling about 80% of the points in the game.
Los Angeles (7-15) has lost a franchise record eight consecutive games since back-to-back wins over the Wings on June 23 and 25. The Sparks lost their first seven games, and 12 of 14, to open the 2015 season before eventually making the playoffs.
The Wings shot a season-high 53.9% (41 of 76) from the field and scored 26 points off 12 Los Angeles turnovers.
Los Angeles took a 57-56 lead when Ogwumike hit a wide-open 3-pointer almost three minutes into the third quarter but Ogunbowale answered with a step-back 3 as the shot clock expired to spark a 12-3 run that gave Dallas the lead for good.
Ogunbowale assisted on a jumper by Howard and then scored three consecutive baskets to cap the spurt and make it 67-59 with 4:01 left in the third.
Dearica Hamby led Los Angeles with 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting and Jordin Canada added 16 points and seven assists. Nneka Ogwumike also scored 16 and Azurá Stevens 12.
Sabally had 20 points in the first half and Howard had 16 for the Wings, who led 52-48 at the break.
Ultimately, Dallas outscored Los Angeles 54-32 in the paint, 9-0 in second chance points and 20-8 in fast break points.
Trammell expressed her joy for the players and how much loves coaching this team following their performance. And concerning those history-making stats... "Should I get T-shirts that says, 'History Makers' on it?" Trammell joked.
We think so, coach Trammell!
