Dallas completed its third comeback win against the Chicago Sky this season in a 96-91 win on Sunday at the American Airlines Center.
Dallas entered the fourth quarter with a 73-66 deficit. However, Paige Bueckers was ready because she rested the final minutes of the third quarter.
After Dallas missed its first two shots to start the fourth quarter, Bueckers started doing her usual fourth quarter magic. She hit a step-back jump shot to make the score 73-68. She continued scoring with a layup and a trip
to the free throw line. She made both free throws to make the score 77-72.
Then, she started getting help from her teammates. Jessica Shepard hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 80-74, and Azzi Fudd hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 82-77. Arike Ogunbowale received a pass from Bueckers and hit a jumper to make the score 84-81.
Following a Chicago timeout, Dallas continued to cut into the deficit as Bueckers received a pass from Shepard and made a layup to cut the deficit to 84-83.
Bueckers found Fudd for a 3-pointer that tied the game at 86-86. Then, Fudd forced a jump ball as Sydney Taylor tried to score and Fudd blocked the shot. Then, Shepard made a layup to give Dallas a 88-86 lead. It was the first time Dallas had the lead since 7:12 remained in the third quarter when Dallas led 48-46.
Chicago took another timeout with 2:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Dallas held on to earn its fifth straight win.
Arike Ogunbowale’s contributions
Ogunbowale finished with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 from the 3-point line. She hit key shots down the stretch as she scored eight points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-5 shooting from the field.
She scored six of the last eight points for Dallas. She hit a jump shot to extend the lead to 90-86. Then, she made a layup to give Dallas a 94-89 lead after she forced a steal. She initially passed the ball to Fudd for a 3-pointer, but Ogunbowale scored after Dallas rebounded Fudd’s missed shot.
While Ogunbowale fought in the fourth quarter, she also helped Dallas finish the first quarter with a 26-20 lead. Ogunbowale scored nine points as Dallas competed against the paint presence of Chicago. The Sky scored 18 points in the paint in the opening quarter.
Poor third quarter forces Dallas comeback
Dallas entered the third quarter with a 46-40 lead, but the lead quickly became a deficit. Chicago outscored Dallas 12-2 to start the quarter. Dallas took a timeout in response to the run as Chicago led 52-48 with 6:37 remaining in the third quarter.
Chicago continued to grow its lead to 62-52. Dallas began cutting into the double digit deficit when Fudd forced a steal and hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 62-54. Then, Shepard scored with a layup to bring the score to 62-56.
Maddy Siegrist made a 3-pointer to make the score to 64-59. Then, Shepard received the ball on the way to the basket for a layup. She made a free-throw to make the score 66-62. Despite Dallas fighting in the third quarter, Chicago outscored Dallas 33-20 in the third quarter.
Chicago shot 64.7% from the field and 66.7% from the 3-point line while Dallas shot 42.1% from the field and 6.7% from the 3-point line. Dallas ended the third quarter trailing 73-66 and needed a comeback to defeat the Sky.
Li Yueru in the post
Li Yueru played significantly more minutes than her average of 7.9 minutes per game. She finished with 23:10 minutes and played the entire fourth quarter.
Dallas was limited in the post after Alanna Smith suffered a lower leg injury in the first half. She was ruled out for the rest of the game. However, Yueru was the first big off the bench as Dallas struggled to guard Kamilla Cardoso.
Yueru came in with 4:56 remaining in the first quarter and battled Cardoso in the post. Yueru finished the first half with 10 points and seven total rebounds.
Yueru continued her strong play in the fourth quarter. She blocked Courtney Vandersloot’s layup to keep the Dallas lead in the fourth quarter. Yueru finished the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
