Odyssey Sims (No. 2) had a phenomenal 23 point performance for the Dallas Wings against the Los Angeles Sparks at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
ARLINGTON, Texas — In a battle between the injury riddled Los Angeles Sparks and Dallas Wings, Dearica Hamby and Odyssey Sims stepped up to the plate at College Park Center on Saturday.
Despite Sims’ 23-point performance, Hamby’s 27 points and rookie Rickea Jackson’s 23 points proved too much for the Wings against the resilient Sparks, falling in a close 87-81 duel.
It was a close game with Sims and Teaira McCowan contributing to Dallas’ early 4-0 lead in the opening 55 seconds against Los Angeles. Hamby countered with a couple of driving layups in between McCowan’s baskets.
Namely, Hamby tallied the Sparks’ nine opening points before Jackson and Azurá Stevens made their initial baskets. Howard, McCowan, Kalani Brown and Jacy Sheldon kept Dallas within four points of Los Angeles after the opening stanza.
Jackson and Layshia Clarendon flanked Sims’ layup to kick off the second frame before Hamby’s layups that came between Arike Ogunbowale’s 25′ step back trey. Ogunbowale capitalized with two free throws after a foul on Zia Cooke.
Rae Burrell’s jumper for the Sparks was met by McCowan’s layup before Ognbowale netted two more free throws when she drew a foul on Hamby with 5:07 left to go in the second quarter.
Stevens, Hamby and Aari McDonald tallied more baskets while Sims and Ogunbowale kept Dallas within a few possessions of the Sparks.
The tide started to turn slightly in Dallas’ direction when Brown made one of her two free throws on a foul drawn on Stevens before the Wings’ backup center caught her rebound and made a midrange jumper to make it a one-point deficit inside the final 3:28 of the first half.
Natasha Howard (No. 6) of the Dallas Wings scored 14 points against the Los Angeles Sparks in College Park Center, in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
Then, Howard and Sims closed out Dallas’ first half with some valuable points against Los Angeles to make it a 45-44 score going into halftime.
Although Los Angeles started the third quarter on a 6-0 run, Sims, Sheldon, Brown and Howard put the Wings back in the lead on the strength of a 19-10 run.
In a highly charged fourth quarter, Sevgi Uzun drained her three point jumper for Dallas as Stephanie Talbot’s layup kept the Sparks within five of the Wings.
Jackson went on a scoring frenzy in the fourth quarter, putting Los Angeles in the lead over Dallas, 74-73 with 5:12 left in the game.
Aari McDonald and Hamby pushed the Sparks ahead of Dallas by eight before Brown and Ogunbowale and Sims did their best to keep the fight progressing. It was not meant to be as the Sparks capitalized in the fourth with a 26-18 run in the fourth quarter.
In spite of the loss, Sims kept her head up high as she reflected on how she can keep her teammates’ morale even keeled through the tough times.
“We know we’re really close,” Sims said. “Another one just got away from us. Just came down to a few possessions. Like Coach said, we just didn’t make shots that we normally make. It’s basketball. Things happen.
“But that’s just my job. I gotta make sure I keep everybody together, gotta be the leader, gotta be vocal, make sure we’re running our stuff. Knowing when to play fast, when to set up a play and figure out. Of course, I pay attention to who needs the ball.”
Brown, one of the key performers for the Wings, recognized how she found her groove in Saturday’s game and how she wanted to carry this over moving forward.
Kalani Brown (No. 21) of the Dallas Wings walks alongside Monique Billings (No. 25) during their matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
“I think this game, I felt the most normal and the most comfortable,” Brown said. “I missed some shots. I’ve been struggling as of late, but I just want to contribute, and I feel like despite the the result, I thought that’s really all I wanted to do. We came up short, but I just want to build on this on this performance.”
Sims recognized how teammates like Brown stepped up on the hardwood court. Riding out through this storm will lead to clearer days ahead for this Western Conference team.
“Certain moments, like you said, Kalani played really, really great,” Sims observed. “Came up in big moments for us today. And we need that. We need that without Teaira feeling well. She played great. So we’re right there. Like I said, we have five people in double figures.
“We didn’t lose, but it was only a few points. We’re there. We just gotta, like I said, we gotta continue to figure it out. Stay positive, stick together, and be ready to work after we get back from break to get on a winning streak. But it’s going to take one game at a time. Not looking too far into the season, but one game at a time, one possession at a time. And get that will to win back.”
The Rundown
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
| Los Angeles Sparks | 22 | 23 | 16 | 26 | 87 |
| Dallas Wings | 18 | 26 | 19 | 18 | 81 |
Playoff Picture
After losing to the Los Angeles Sparks (6-17), the Dallas Wings (5-19) trail the eighth place Chicago Sky by 4.5 games.
Los Angeles Sparks: By the Numbers
Dearica Hamby (No. 5) of the Los Angels Sparks led the way with 27 points in an 87-81 win over the Dallas Wings at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
| Los Angeles Sparks | ||||||||||||||
| Starters | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Dearica Hamby (F) | 36 | 13-24 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 27 |
| Azurá Stevens (F) | 38 | 6-10 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 16 |
| Rickea Jackson (F) | 29 | 8-14 | 0-3 | 7-9 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 23 |
| Kia Nurse (G) | 25 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Aari McDonald (G) | 28 | 4-7 | 0-1 | 4-4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| Bench | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Stephanie Talbot (F) | 13 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -1 | 2 |
| Layshia Clarendon (G) | 14 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Rae Burrell (G) | 8 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 2 |
| Zia Cooke (G) | 9 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Crystal Dangerfield (G) | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||||
Dallas Wings: By the Numbers
Odyssey Sims (No. 2) of the Dallas Wings celebrated her birthday in front of the College Park Center faithful in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, July 13, 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) | 36 | 6-18 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 14 |
| Teaira McCowan (C) | 17 | 5-7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -8 | 10 |
| Odyssey Sims (G) | 39 | 9-17 | 2-4 | 3-4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -9 | 23 |
| Arike Ogunbowale (G) | 38 | 2-15 | 2-9 | 6-6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | -4 | 12 |
| Jacy Sheldon (G) | 35 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -2 | 6 |
| Bench | Minutes | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
| Monique Billings (F) | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -14 | 0 |
| Kalani Brown (C) | 23 | 5-9 | 0-0 | 3-6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| Sevgi Uzun (G) | 9 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 3 |
| Stephanie Soares (C) | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||||
| Lou Lopez Senechal (G) | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||||
Coming Up Next
Caitlin Clark has played sensational basketball for the Indiana Fever. (Photo: Ryan May | 800 Meter Sports Photography)
Caitlin Clark and the seventh place Indiana Fever (11-14) meet with the Dallas Wings for the first of three matchups in 2024 on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. In the Wings’ sole preseason game, Dallas defeated Indiana, 79-76, Clark scored 21 points for Indiana while Ogunbowale tallied 19 points.
