Jacy Sheldon (No. 4) of the Dallas Wings goes on the attack against the Washington Mystics at Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Photo: Dallas Wings Basketball)
WASHINGTON — The Dallas Wings struggled to find a consistent rhythm in Saturday afternoon’s matchup against the Washington Mystics. Despite Natasha Howard ‘s 19-point performance and Jacy Sheldon scoring 16 in her second career WNBA start, the Mystics soundly defeated the Wings, 97-69, at Entertainment & Sports Arena.
Teaira McCowan‘s layup just 13 seconds into the game gave the Wings an early 2-0 lead before Stefanie Dolson‘s three-point shot put the Mystics ahead for the next 1:36.
Sheldon made the first of her four three pointers with 7:20 remaining in the first quarter, putting Dallas ahead of Washington, 7-5, before Emily Engstler responded with her three trey 12 seconds later.
Sevgi Uzun put the Wings ahead, 8-6, with a 24′ three-point pull jumps shot with 6:33 remaining in the first quarter. Then, Engstler drew a shooting foul on McCowan 12 seconds later, banking both free throws to draw even with Dallas.
Engstler’s free throws kicked off an 7-0 run for Washington for the next 2:21 as Julie Vanloo drained a 26′ three-point basket while Engstler scored a layup with 4:06 remaining in the first quarter, prompting a timeout by the Wings.
With Washington leading 13-8, Kalani Brown‘s layup with 3:42 left in the quarter brought Dallas within three points. However, Washington went on a 7-3 run to end the quarter, leading Dallas, 20-13, as Shatori Walker-Kimbrough made both free throws after drawing a foul on Monique Billings.
Jade Melbourne and Walker-Kimbrough extended Washington’s lead from seven to 12 before Arike Ogunbowale‘s jump shot brought Dallas back within 10 points with 8:41 left in the second quarter.
Ariel Atkins cashed in on a jump shot while drawing a foul against Ogunbowale, successfully making her free throw to extend Washington’s lead by 13.
Ogunbowale’s layup briefly closed the gap to 11 for Dallas against Washington before the Mystics went on a scoring barrage for the final 7:12 of the second quarter. Melbourne, Dolson, Atkins, Engstler, Didi Richards and Karlie Samuelson contributed to Washington’s 23 points versus Dallas’ 17, with Howard, McCowan and Sheldon’s baskets.
Washington closed out the first half by leading Dallas, 51-34, dominating beyond the arc and in the paint with an all-around, aggressive approach. Even with McCowan and Howard bringing Dallas back within 13 points, Washington never let off the gas pedal.
The third quarter saw more aggression by the Mystics, extending their lead to 22 points over the Wings. Atkins, Engstler, Samuelson, Dolson, Walker-Kimbrough chipped in for Washington while McCowan, Howard, Brown, Uzun, Sheldon, Billings and Lou Lopez Sénéchal scored Dallas’ 17 third quarter points.
In the fourth and final quarter, Washington’s relentless offense proved too much for Dallas with attempting a gallant rally. Howard scored four consecutive points for the Wings before Dolson and Samuelson responded with the Mystics’ next five points.
Jacy Sheldon (No. 4) of the Dallas Wings was 4-7 from the three-point range, scoring 16 points against the Washington Mystics at Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Photo: Dallas Wings Basketball)
Sheldon made two 24′ three pointers, scoring a career-high 16 points while Brown tallied six of her 13 points in the final 3:46. Nevertheless, Washington secured a dominant 97-69 win with Engstler’s 23 point performance was complimented by nine rebounds and three assists.
Originally coming off the bench to start the season, Sheldon, the Ohio State alum, has capitalized in her first two WNBA career starts. Playing alongside Howard in the starting five for the first time, the Wings’ 2024 first round pick is focused on turning things around along with her teammates.
“Just contribute in any way I can to help this team,” Sheldon said. “It’s about all of us, not any individual. And I think just being a being able to go out there and continue to learn how to play with these girls and learn.
“We got finally got Tash back out here and learned how to play with her. And it’s been a good experience and I think now, it’s just finding ways to win. That’s our main goal. And it’ll continue to be. So just learning from everything, learning from this game, and coming back even stronger.”
Latricia Trammell, head coach of the Wings, tried to look at the silver linings for her battle tested squad. Trammell praised Sheldon’s efforts and how she could coach the Buckeye for the rest of her coaching career while she was elated with Howard in her second game back since her foot injury.
“Think about Natasha Howard, since Jacy mentioned her coming back, limited minutes but six for 15, seven for nine from the free throw line, six rebounds, and she was our leading scorer with limited minutes,” Trammell said. “She has been there and done that. She has won championships.
“She knows what it looks like and what teams need to do to get to that point. And so I’m excited for when she’s fully released. But I’m extremely proud of her.”
Like Sheldon and Trammell, Howard has been as positive as possible with the Wings’ tough 10-game stretch. As the three-time WNBA champion knows, an even-keeled mindset helps as the Wings duel the Mystics on Sunday afternoon (2 CT on Bally Sports Southwest Extra and WNBA League Pass).
“Right now, just keeping each other’s energy up, staying positive, and don’t get too high, don’t get too low,” Howard said. “Our thing is just go back and watch film. And I think that we could do better as a team and as an individual.
“And when the Olympics break starts, we’re going to have everybody back healthy and ready to rock and roll. So it’s going to be a different team than what you guys see right now, even though we have injuries, but, my just watching, seeing what we do in the second half of the season.”
The Rundown
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
| Dallas Wings | 13 | 21 | 17 | 18 | 69 |
| Washington Mystics | 20 | 31 | 22 | 24 | 97 |
Dallas Wings: By the Numbers
Natasha Howard (No. 6) of the Dallas Wings scored 19 points against the Washington Mystics at Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Photo: Dallas Wings Basketball)
| Dallas Wings | ||||||||||||||
| Starters | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Natasha Howard (F) | 23 | 6-15 | 0-4 | 7-9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -12 | 19 |
| Teaira McCowan (C) | 14 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -10 | 6 |
| Arike Ogunbowale (G) | 34 | 3-11 | 0-6 | 0-1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | -23 | 6 |
| Jacy Sheldon (G) | 36 | 6-10 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -25 | 16 |
| Sevgi Uzun (G) | 28 | 2-8 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -15 | 5 |
| Bench | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Monique Billings (F) | 14 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -14 | 2 |
| Morgan Bertsch (F) | 9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -14 | 0 |
| Kalani Brown (C) | 15 | 6-8 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | -10 | 13 |
| Stephanie Soares (C) | 8 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Lou Lopez Sénéchal (G) | 18 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -15 | 2 |
Washington Mystics: By the Numbers
| Washington Mystics | ||||||||||||||
| Starters | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Myisha Hines-Allen (F) | 14 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| Stefanie Dolson (C) | 26 | 7-13 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 16 |
| Julie Vanloo (G) | 25 | 1-5 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 3 |
| Karlie Samuelson (G) | 30 | 5-12 | 3-5 | 4-4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 17 |
| Ariel Atkins (G) | 25 | 3-9 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 7 |
| Bench | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Emily Engstler (F) | 25 | 7-11 | 3-4 | 6-6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 23 |
| Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (G) | 22 | 3-7 | 1-3 | 2-3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 9 |
| Didi Richards (G) | 15 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 |
| Jade Melbourne (G) | 18 | 4-5 | 0-1 | 5-6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 13 |
