Sevgi Uzun (No. 1, Guard) of the Dallas Wings contributed with 11 points against the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday, June 9, 2024, at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. (Photo: Dallas Wings Basketball)
ARLINGTON, Texas — In a gallant effort on Sunday afternoon, the Dallas Wings gave it their all against the Phoenix Mercury before losing in double-overtime at the College Park Center, 97-90. While Arike Ogunbowale had her first double-double of the season with 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, her Wings teammates contributed in a pitched 50-minute scramble.
From the onset of the Wings’ fourth WNBA Commissioner’s Cup game of the 2024 season, it was a battle of wits. Brittney Griner of the Mercury started off with a turnaround jump shot in the opening 36 seconds. Then, Dallas’ Monique Billings responded with a running layup with 8:43 to go in the first quarter.
Teaira McCowan and Maddy Siegrist made their presence known, scoring four points each in the opening quarter for the Wings. Meanwhile, Rebecca Allen, Kahleah Copper and Diana Taurasi catalyzed the Mercury’s scoring efforts, both teams trading punches for a 14-14 result after 10 minutes of play.
Sevgi Uzun kicked the second quarter off with a couple of layups and free throw to give the Wings an early 19-14 lead. After Siegrist was called for a flagrant foul on Sophie Cunningham, the momentum shifted in favor of the Mercury. Taurasi and Griner continued their scoring prowess before McCowan tied things up, 21-21, with 6:57 remaining.
Siegrist tallied a cutting layup shot and a free throw to complete the three-point play with the Wings regaining the lead over the Mercury, 24-21, with 6:31 to go. Kalani Brown, who came off the bench, drained her 19′ jump shot thanks to a Jacy Sheldon assist to extend Dallas’ lead over Phoenix from three to five points.
Allen, Copper and Griner of the Mercury countered the Wings’ Ogunbowale and McCowan in the span of a minute and 15 seconds. As the Wings led the Mercury, 30-29, with 2:13 left in the second quarter and first half of the game, McCowan fouled Taurasi, resulting in the future Basketball Hall of Famer making both of her free throws (FTs).
Natasha Cloud scored a running layup with 51 seconds left in the first half, extending the Mercury’s lead to three points. With 39 seconds remaining, Sheldon scored a jump shot to bring the Wings within one point of the Mercury before Allen brought the lead back to three over the Wings going into halftime.
Once the second half was underway, Ogunbowale five of her 25 points in the third quarter for Dallas. Taurasi and Griner proved to be a formidable tandem for the Mercury along with Sug Sutton as the Wings outscored Phoenix, 22-21, bringing Dallas within two of the Mercury’s lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Monique Billings (No. 25) of the Dallas Wings had double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Phoenix Mercury at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. (Photo: Dallas Wings Basketball)
Just as it looked like the Mercury were about to pull away in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, the Wings mounted a charge with Siegrist, Billings and Sheldon, retaking and extending their lead with 3:37 left.
Copper, Griner and Tauarsi kept responding to Dallas’ late game efforts, ultimately tying the score inside the final 33 seconds of regulation. Suddenly, Phoenix and Dallas kicked off the first, five minute Overtime period of the game.
Despite the Mercury winning the opening tipoff, Siegrist and Ogunbowale helped Dallas retake the lead, 81-78, with 3:31 remaining. McCowan and Ogunbowale resumed their scoring frenzy before Griner sank a jump shot to give Phoenix an 85-83 lead with 0:21 left.
A timely McCowan putback layup tied the score again, resulting in another five minute Overtime period. Uzun and Ogunbowale tallied some meaningful baskets while Copper, Taurasi and Cloud scored some daggers to curtail Dallas’ late game rally and bid for their fourth win of 2024.
Instead, Phoenix went on to win sixth game of the year, reaching the ..500 mark (6-6) while Dallas drops to 3-7 for the season. Following a grueling four games in the past week, Latricia Trammell, head coach of the Wings, considered the benefits of waiting four days until their Thursday night duel against the Seattle Storm (6 CT on ESPN).
“That’s what I want to bring that up,” Trammell said. “That’s why I’m so proud of this team as well. And just because we’re talking about the travel and the late nights, they haven’t practiced. Came in (Saturday) at 3:00, I was told, minute wise, we couldn’t get on.
“As a coach, that’s hard because you just want to get in and grind and work on some of those enhancements that we need to. So, I got to give these players credit to come in and Phoenix is coming off a good win (against the Minnesota Lynx). It’s the heart and the grit and the passion of a true professional.”
Likewise, Siegrist chimed in and how the change of pace may be beneficial for the Wings.
Maddy Siegrist (No. 20) of the Dallas Wings hustles hard to the net against the Dallas Wings at the College Park Center on Sunday, June 9, 2024. (Photo: Dallas Wings Basketball)
“The charters have been great being able to come home, but we’ve had some late nights,” Siegrist observed. “I feel like we’ve just been, like, just wake up, game again, which is awesome. But definitely take a few days. It’ll be nice to just get some sleep, some good food, and then, hopefully, some wins.”
One of the Wings’ key contributors was Uzun, who tallied 11 points two rebounds and two assists. Considering her journey from Turkey to Texas and in WNBA markets, she knows it is about having the strength and stamina to grind through a hotly contested WNBA game.
“[Sunday’s game] was like two overtimes,” Uzun said. “But every game is so tough and then really hard for us to play. So, I think as long as we’re on the court, we are trying to do our best and then, hopefully, it will be enough.”
All things considered, Siegrist knows that she and her Wings teammates gave it their all, from Ogunbowale playing all 50 minutes to Sheldon’s contributions off the bench.
“Anytime you get the opportunity to step on the court, you just got to be grateful and you got to embrace it,” Siegrist said. “I think we’re all competitive people, so you want to win. That’s the goal. And you just want to compete.
“I think our team competed for the whole 50 minutes today. We had a lot of opportunities. But, we competed till the end. And that’s all you could ask for.”
The Rundown
Jacy Sheldon (No. 4) of the Dallas Wings tallied four points against the Phoenix Mercury at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, June 9, 2024. (Photo: Dallas Wings Basketball)
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | OT1 | OT2 | Total |
| Phoenix Mercury | 14 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 97 |
| Dallas Wings | 14 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 90 |
Phoenix Mercury: By the Numbers
| Phoenix Mercury | ||||||||||||||
| Starters | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +-/ | PTS |
| Brittney Griner (C) | 39 | 11-16 | 0-1 | 2-3 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 24 |
| Diana Taurasi (G) | 39 | 8-21 | 2-11 | 2-2 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 20 |
| Natasha Cloud (G) | 44 | 2-6 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -2 | 7 |
| Kahleah Copper (G) | 44 | 9-22 | 4-11 | 7-8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 29 |
| Rebecca Allen (G) | 30 | 3-8 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -5 | 6 |
| Bench | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Natasha Mack (F) | 11 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | -5 | 2 |
| Liz Dixon (F) | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sophie Cunningham (G) | 27 | 2-5 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Sug Sutton (G) | 14 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Morgan Bertsch (F) | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||||
| Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (F) | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||||
Dallas Wings: By the Numbers
Arike Ogunbowale (No. 24) of the Dallas Wings had 25 points and 10 assists in a 97-90 2OT loss in College Park Center on Sunday, June 9, 2024. (Photo: Dallas Wings Basketball)
| Dallas Wings | ||||||||||||||
| Starters | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +-/ | PTS |
| Monique Billings (F) | 47 | 5-7 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | -6 | 10 |
| Maddy Siegrist (F) | 48 | 5-13 | 1-4 | 1-1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -7 | -7 | 12 |
| Teaira McCowan (C) | 37 | 9-14 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | -9 | 20 |
| Arike Ogunbowale (G) | 50 | 9-27 | 3-11 | 4-6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -7 | 25 |
| Sevgi Uzun (G) | 33 | 4-10 | 2-6 | 1-1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| Bench | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +-/ | PTS |
| Kalani Brown (C) | 14 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Stephanie Soares (C) | 5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 |
| Jacy Sheldon (G) | 17 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -11 | 4 |
| Lou Lopez Senechal (G) | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||||
