Natasha Howard (No. 6) of the Dallas Wings put on a clinic against the Phoenix Mercury despite a 104-96 loss at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
ARLINGTON, Texas — After trailing by 18 points in the opening 55 seconds of the second half, the Dallas Wings nearly rallied against the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night at College Park Center. Despite Natasha Howard‘s second double-double of the 2024 WNBA season with 36 points and 11 rebounds and Arike Ogunbowale‘s 26-point performance, Dallas fell to Phoenix, 104-96.
In the opening quarter, Dallas started off with a 2-0 lead when Howard made her free throws after being fouled by Natasha Cloud in the opening 75 seconds.
For the 55 seconds, it was a point scoring affair with Howard and Jacy Sheldon‘s baskets countered by Brittney Griner, Rebecca Allen and Kahleah Copper‘s buckets for Phoenix, making it a 6-6 game.
Griner’s jumper with 6:48 left in the quarter put Phoenix in the lead by two points. It was a lead that Phoenix never relinquished for the remainder of the game.
Phoenix went on a 21-12 to close out the first quarter with Allen, Copper, Diana Taurasi and Sophie Cunningham‘s contributions while Dallas saw scoring action from Ogunbowale, Howard, Teaira McCowan, Odyssey Sims and Monique Billings.
Once the second quarter started, Taurasi and Cunningham’s treys put Phoenix up by 12 over Dallas before Kalani Brown and Sevgi Uzun brought Dallas back within eight points with 8:33 left.
Arike Ogunbowale (No. 24) of the Dallas Wings commended her teammates’ efforts against the Phoenix Mercury at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
Then, Griner, Taurasi, Copper and Allen put Dallas behind by 15 with 2:48 left in the first half before Billings, Brown and Ogunbowale’s baskets made it a 56-43 score in favor of Phoenix.
As the second half kicked off, Griner’s torrid scoring performance continued, banking her two free throws after being fouled by McCowan in the opening 33 seconds. Making a jumper and drawing the foul against McCowan 22 seconds later, Griner’s baskets put Phoenix up by 18 over Dallas.
Slowly but surely, Dallas began chipping away at Phoenix’s substantial lead, outscoring the Mercury, 33-27. Sims, Ogunbowale and Uzun’s timely scoring was met by Howard’s impressive 12 point performance in the third quarter with Dallas trailing Phoenix, 83-76.
When the fourth quarter was underway, Dallas continued their impressive scoring attack. Baskets by Sims, Howard, Brown and Ogunbowale made it a single possession game inside the final 4:44 with Phoenix holding a slender 90-87 lead over Dallas.
Just 17 seconds later, Howard, drawing a personal foul against Cunningham, made her two free throws to make it a 91-89 score with Dallas creeping up on Phoenix. Within a whisker of their fifth win of the season, missed shots, either on the floor or on the free throw line, proved costly.
Inside the final 4:44, Phoenix outscored Dallas, 14-9. Any lingering thoughts of a Wings comeback were dashed by Copper’s trey with 23 seconds left in the game. From there, Natasha Cloud, who drew a foul against Sheldon in the final six seconds, padded Phoenix’s margin of victory over Dallas by eight points, 104-96.
Latricia Trammell, head coach of the Dallas Wings, observed her team’s strong hustle against the Phoenix Mercury at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
Although Dallas lost another heartbreaker at home, head coach Latricia Trammell considered the second half adjustments that turned the tide nearly in her team’s favor.
“What I liked about it is in the third quarter they didn’t get a three point shot,” Trammell said. “So that was definitely an adjustment. Change the lineup just a little bit. so I think, for me, that was really big.
“And then also our transition points, fast break points. I think this might be one of our highs with 11, really pushing the pace. And that’s something that we knew that we needed to do, especially with them coming in having played three games in four days.”
Ogunbowale, recently named to the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game for the fourth consecutive time in her career, summarized her team’s game succinctly.
“I’m proud of us staying with it,” Ogunbowale said. “The game’s not over till the last whistle blows. We just came up short.”
On the Mend
Maddy Siegrist of the Dallas Wings supports her teammates as she prepares for her return following the Paris Olympic break. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
Prior to the game, Maddy Siegrist returned to College Park Center to workout with her Wings teammates after suffering a broken left index finger in the Dallas-Minnesota Lynx game at Target Center on June 17. Sporting a cast around her finger, Siegrist sat on the Wings bench to support her teammates, projected to return following the Paris Olympic break.
The Rundown
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
| Phoenix Mercury | 27 | 29 | 27 | 21 | 104 |
| Dallas Wings | 18 | 25 | 33 | 20 | 96 |
Phoenix Mercury: By the Numbers
Brittney Griner (No. 42) of the Phoenix Mercury makes the basket against Teaira McCowan (No. 15) of the Dallas Wings at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
| Phoenix Mercury | ||||||||||||||
| Starters | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Brittney Griner (C) | 33 | 10-14 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 24 |
| Diana Taurasi (G) | 30 | 2-8 | 2-6 | 10-11 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 20 |
| Natasha Cloud (G) | 30 | 3-7 | 1-3 | 4-5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 7 |
| Kahleah Copper (G) | 32 | 14-20 | 3-4 | 3-3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | -3 | 29 |
| Rebecca Allen (G) | 20 | 5-8 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Bench | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (F) | 9 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Natasha Mack (F) | 7 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 2 |
| Sophie Cunningham (G) | 26 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| Sug Sutton (G) | 12 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
Dallas Wings: By the Numbers
Odyssey Sims (No. 2) of the Dallas Wings was a catalyst against the Phoenix Mercury at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Wednessday, July 3, 2024. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
| Dallas Wings | ||||||||||||||
| Starters | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Natasha Howard (F) | 34 | 11-15 | 1-2 | 13-17 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 36 |
| Teaira McCowan (C) | 15 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -12 | 3 |
| Odyssey Sims (G) | 38 | 5-11 | 0-2 | 3-4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -4 | 13 |
| Arike Ogunbowale (G) | 40 | 8-22 | 3-10 | 7-7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -8 | 26 |
| Jacy Sheldon (G) | 24 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -11 | 2 |
| Bench | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Monique Billings (F) | 8 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 3 |
| Kalani Brown (C) | 23 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Lou Lopez Senechal (G) | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sevgi Uzun (G) | 18 | 3-7 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 7 |
| Stephanie Soares (C) | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||||
Coming Up Next
The Dallas Wings (4-15) host the Atlanta Dream (7-11) at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Friday, July 5 at 6:30 p.m. CT live on ION. Tickets are available to purchase at AXS.
