It’s about to get a little nittier and grittier around here for your Dallas Wings (19-11).
The Wings sit in a tie for fourth place in the WNBA Standings as they stare down a stretch where their next seven opponents boast a combined record of 129-77. To squeeze a little more juice into the scenario, just 14 regular-season games remain on Dallas’ schedule, including Wednesday’s rematch at the Washington Mystics.
The Wings fell to the Mystics 81-75 on Friday at CareFirst Arena, when they got absolutely
bludgeoned inside by the Mystics’ post duo of Kiki Iriafen (22 points, nine rebounds) and Shakira Austin (28 points, 10 rebounds). Dallas bounced back on Sunday with a blowout win over the Connecticut Sun, but the Wings need to notch another win as a truly brutal stretch of scheduling looms large on the team’s hopes of securing the best possible playoff positioning down the stretch.
The Wings have had no answer all season long for the WNBA’s big bruisers. Their frontcourt is much improved from a year ago, but that improvement has come on wings of skill rather than the sheer size needed to contend with a pair like Iriafen and Austin.
Flighty Wings
Dallas is well rested entering Wednesday’s game, but the Mystics have been waiting on the Wings at home since Friday’s win. Dallas is just 3-3 in their last six, while Washington has won four in a row and six of its last eight. The Wings’ offense has not fired on all cylinders in their last three, averaging just 82 points per game and shooting just 16-of-63 (25.4%) from 3-point range in that stretch. Their overall shooting numbers have not been bad over their last three (95-of-208, 45.7%), but they haven’t gotten to the line with any consistency, and when you combine that with the cold stretch from long range, it just hasn’t looked like the explosive version of the Wings their fanbase has fallen in love with this season.
If Dallas can get to 90 or more points, the Wings can live with the Mystics’ outsized advantage in the paint. If they’re not getting out and running — if they’re not cashing in from 3-point territory — they give all the power in the matchup over to Washington’s brute force down low.
Ogunbowalaissance
While the rest of the offense has sputtered at times, Arike Ogunbowale has turned back the clock over the course of the last eight games in some respects. In others, she has completely changed her game. Ogunbowale has been super efficient in scoring 15 or more in all eight of them, shooting a combined 59-of-112 (52.7%) from the field on an average of just 14 shots per game in that stretch.
She’s finishing more of those strong drives to the hoop. She’s coming up clutch with her step-back 3-point attempts. And perhaps most importantly, she’s averaging better than a 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“I don’t think a lot of people are giving [Ogunbowale] the credit she deserves on the type of year she’s having,” Wings head coach Jose Fernandez said after Sunday’s 83-63 win over the Sun. “She’d had to change a lot of things from being high-volume to now sharing it, putting it on the deck, getting downhill. So, it’s about winning.”
That’s exactly what Dallas needs from the franchise leader in both points and assists down the stretch of her eighth season in the W. This is the version of her game that best fits with the Wings’ vision of success as the WNBA playoff race begins to take shape.
Force the issue
Paige Bueckers has been all-world for the Wings at every turn early in her career. Full stop. But there are times that it’s also clear that she’s capable of taking her game to even another level.
She has a tendency to let each game come to her. Sometimes this tendency manifests itself in slow starts for the Wings’ offense. Now, of course, Bueckers is also seeing double-teams and blitzes galore. The proper response to her gravity is often finding an open teammate.
But the fact remains, the Wings need every ounce Bueckers has to give them against their next seven opponents. Dallas can’t afford to start slowly in any of their next seven. If they do, a slide down the playoff ladder will be the sure result.
A chance to cement themselves as one of the top-four teams in the league is at stake. This stretch could mean the difference between a truly storybook year and a mere step in the right direction. And so much of the result lay in the uber-capable hands of Dallas’ resident supernova.
How to watch
The Wings and the Mystics tip off on Wednesday from DC’s CareFirst Arena at 6:30 p.m. CDT. Catch the game on KFAA Channel 29 locally or on WNBA League Pass where available.
