Following Monday’s 92-69 win over the Washington Mystics
, the Dallas Wings (3-2) won a tightly contested game on the road, 99-89, at the Chicago Sky on Wednesday.“We didn’t want come in after the great game against Washington and take a step back,” Arike Ogunbowale said in a televised postgame interview.
Jessica Shepard finished with 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. She secured her 10th board on a missed 3-pointer from Rachel Banham with just seconds remaining in the ballgame.
It was the first
triple-double of the WNBA season and the second of Shepard’s career.
“I think her experience being able to handle the ball and get it off the glass, that’s big,” Wings head coach Jose Fernandez said. “But being able to play off the block, get into zoom actions, [dribble-hand-off] actions, the spacing helps her, but it’s her that’s translating it onto the floor.”
Shepard was one of four Wings players to finish in double figures against the Sky. She had 12 points and 16 rebounds in Monday’s win over the Mystics. Paige Bueckers led the team with 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting at Chicago, while Ogunbowale added 23 points and five assists in the win.
“I think we’re starting to get a chemistry with each other,” Bueckers said. “That comes with repetition. We’re a really selfless team — we pass up good shots for great shots.”
Azzi Fudd finished with 12 points off the bench for the second straight game. She shot 4-for-6 from the field and made both her 3-point attempts against the Sky.
“First half was a little rough but we took a step up in the second half,” Ogunbowale said.
After Ogunbowale found Alanna Smith for a 3-pointer to start the first quarter, the Wings failed to make a basket from the floor until Bueckers hit a pull-up jumper more than three minutes later, cutting the early deficit to 8-7.
The lead grew to 12-7 before Shepard hit a shot near the basket. On the next possession, Fudd hit a pullup jumper to make it 12-11.
Chicago went on a 10-0 run from there. Ogunbowale stopped the Sky run with a 3-pointer, and Bueckers hit a pull-up jumper to make the score 22-16 at the end of the opening quarter.
After battling in the second quarter, Dallas entered the halftime trailing 38-37. It was the first time this year that the Wings trailed at halftime.
She scored the first points in the second half for Dallas with a jumper. Then, she reached double figures on the next possession with a jumper, giving Dallas a 41-40 lead. Shepard found Alanna Smith cutting to the rim, making the score 43-41.
Bueckers gave Dallas the lead with a jumper near the basket, making the score 45-43, then hit another pull-up jumper to regain the lead. Li Yueru extended the Wings’ lead to 50-45 with a 3-pointer near the top of the key. Shepard got fouled on a bucket close to the hoop a couple minutes later, sending her to the free-throw line for a three-point play.
She made the shot from the charity strip to increase the Dallas lead to 54-49 with 4:58 remaining in the third quarter. Bueckers hit a 3-pointer a minute later to give the Wings a 57-51 lead.
Ogunbowale was the difference-maker for the Wings in the fourth, scoring 11 of her 23 points in the frame. She hit a 3-pointer to make the score 81-73 early on.
“We looked like a top team in the league in the fourth quarter,” Ogunbowale said. “We didn’t have a great first half, but I think we just stayed poised when they made a little run and just played well in the fourth.”
After a Chicago timeout as Dallas had a 83-75 win, Elizabeth Williams made a layup to cut the deficit to 83-77. Bueckers hit a jumper to put the lead back to 85-77.
Diggins cut the lead with a jumper to make the score 87-82 with 2:57 remaining in the game. Cloud went 2-for-2 from the field to make the score 87-84. But Ogunbowale hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Dallas a 93-84 lead and put the game out of Chicago’s reach.
Bueckers forced her way to the basket for a layup to make the score 95-84. Banham hit a 3-pointer to make the score 95-87. Banham finished the game with seven points as three Sky players reached double figures. Cardoso led the team with 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the field.
