Las Vegas Aces Tally Dominant Win Against Dallas Wings

Arike Ogunbowale (No 24) of the Dallas Wings scored 31 points in a valiant effort against the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

ARLINGTON, Texas — In the Dallas Wings’ second WNBA Commissioner’s Cup matchup of the 2024 season, the young, Western Conference contenders dueled the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday night at College Park Center to a sold-out crowd.

From the opening tipoff, the Aces wasted little time on both ends of the floor. A’ja Wilson made her presence known in the paint with layups and jump shots. Meanwhile, Kelsey Plum contributed in the early going with a finger roll layup and her three, successful free throws to make it a 14-4 score with 6:01 left in the first quarter.

Despite the Wings’ early struggles against the Aces in the first quarter, outscored 29-16, Arike Ogunbowale, Teaira McCowan, Maddy Siegrist and Monique Billings made their presence known on the scoring front. Ogunbowale inspired the Wings by scoring 12 of her 31 points in the second quarter, driving to the paint with a fadeaway jump shot and finger roll layup.

With 0:21 seconds left in the first half, Alysha Clark of the Aces fouled Ogunbowale with both players on the floor for a few minutes. Clark and Ogunbowale got back on their feet with the Notre Dame alum sinking both of her free throws to close out the first half with a 47-42 score in favor of the Aces.

Arike Ogunbowale (No. 24) of the Dallas Wings shots this deep three pointer against the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

As the second half kicked off, Ogunbowale drew a foul on Jackie Young, draining both of her free throws to make it a three-point deficit against the Aces before Wilson turned up the wick. Starting with a driving layup, Wilson was on the attack with her successful, midrange shots. Young, Plum and Tiffany Hayes catalyzed the Aces in outscoring the Wings, 28-19, in the third quarter, resulting in a 75-61 score heading into the final quarter.

Clark and Young started off the fourth quarter with a furious start for the Aces, extending their lead to 80-61 with 8:18 left in the fourth quarter before Sevgi Uzun scored a 9′ step back bank jump shot with 7:49 to go, bringing the Wings within 17 points of the Aces.

Hayes’ layup with 4:39 in the game was the dagger in a tried and determined effort by the Wings. Despite Billings’ running layup with 1:30 left, the Aces played their best cards when it mattered.

After Siegrist scored a turnaround jump shot with 23 seconds left in the game, the buzzer sounded with the Aces (5-2) defeating the Wings (3-5), 95-81.

Following the game, Latricia Trammell, head coach of the Wings, considered the team’s determined effort.

“I thought there was moments of brilliance,” Trammell said. “I think we kept fighting. We kept having to utilize a lot of energy to comeback. We had open shots too. We just missed them. Arike and I were talking about. A lot of things to build on. A lot of positives.”

One of the storylines going into Wednesday night’s game was the matchup between Ogunbowale and Wilson. Ogunbowale offered her insights on playing against the Aces’ dynamic player and the effort it takes to stymie her efforts.

“She’s a great player, two-time MVP,” Ogunbowale said. “You can only try to limit her. You can’t really stop her. That’s how good of a player she is. It takes team defense, not just one person.

“Whoever is guarding her, it’s not like A’ja’s scored on her. She scored on the whole team. We have to help whoever’s guarding her. It has to be a team defense against a player like that. But she did great. Yea, she had a good game.”

For a player who attacks hard on the offensive zone, Ogunbowale has worked on elevating her craft on the defensive end. Notably, she tallied three defensive rebounds and four steals.

Arike Ogunbowale (No 24) of the Dallas Wings made her presence known on both ends of the floor against the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

“I think my focus has been playing both ends of the ball,” she said. “Getting steals, holding defense, and I’ve tried to do that a lot this year. So, just trying to be there for my team and just exert a lot of energy. I score a lot in my five years but I wanted to take that step. And I think I’ve been doing well this year. I would rather have the win but build on it as well.”

For all the focus given the new eyes on the WNBA, sports talk shows, TV and radio, have reflected on the physicality seen on the court. As Ogunbowale shared, this is not a new trend, but rather professional basketball at its genuine core.

“This has been like this since my rookie year,” Ogunbowale said. “That’s what I’ve been able to go against but I’ve seen it since I’ve been watching the WNBA since I was young. Literally nothing new. You get fouled, that’s what it is. The men get fouled, I don’t see people saying, ‘Why did he do this?’ It’s basketball. It’s going to be physical. We’re going to compete. Some people might get knocked down. Some people bleed and that’s basketball. It’s no different, man or woman. So, nothing’s a surprise.

“I fall on the floor. Glory to God, I get back up. Sometimes, you don’t. Sometimes, you do, and that’s just basketball. It just kind of annoys me how they make such a big deal about the physicality. The new people, they might be, ‘This is tough.’ This is just what it’s been. It’s basketball. It’s not women being catty. It’s not this. It’s basketball. So, the narrative has to stop of people doing this, doing that. It’s going to be physical. So if you don’t want to go watch this, go watch golf or something.”

The Rundown

A’ja Wilson (No. 22) of the Las Vegas Aces celebrates her team’s fifth win of the 2024 WNBA season as the Aces defeated the Dallas Wings, 95-81, on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

Las Vegas Aces: By the Numbers

Dallas Wings: By the Numbers