The Dallas Wings (14-8) rode a hot stretch in the second quarter to an 88-77 win over the New York Liberty (13-9) on Tuesday at Barclays Arena. Jessica Shepard was everywhere once again, finishing with her third triple-double (22 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) of the season in the win. Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 31 points and grabbed nine boards in the loss for New York.
The Wings missed all eight of their 3-point looks in the first quarter but were down just 20-18 after one. Dallas forced
six New York turnovers in the first, but were only able to turn them into four transition points.
The Wings held the Liberty scoreless for a stretch of 5:36 in the second quarter and finally got hot from 3-point range on the other end to turn the tables on New York.
Aziaha James hit Dallas’ first 3-ball of the game to pull the Wings to within 25-21 just 1:30 into the second quarter, but that score would ignite a 19-0 run. Alanna Smith would hit her first 3-pointer of the game three minutes later to give the Wings a 31-25 lead, and Awak Kuier nailed two more to extend the lead to 37-25 with four minutes to play in the half.
Jessica Shepard kept everything connected during the run, starting the break by pulling down eight first-half rebounds and finishing it by finding teammates for seven first-half assists. Everyone was involved for Dallas in the first half, but Shepard led the Wings with 12 points before the break. Dallas took a 47-31 lead into halftime.
The Wings’ defense held Breanna Stewart to 10 first-half points and held sharpshooting guard Sabrina Ionescu scoreless.
Stewart was more assertive for New York to start the third quarter, but she also picked up her third foul of the game less than a minute into the second half. Stewart, Ionescu and center Jonquel Jones ignited a quick 14-3 run to cut the Wings’ lead t0 52-47. Jones and Ionescu each hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, then Ionescu drove for her second basket of the game to cut it to five with 5:55 left in the third.
Call and response
The Wings took back control of the game late in the third as soon as they made it a point to make Shepard more of a focal point on offense. Paige Bueckers, who allowed the game to come to her almost to a fault against the Liberty, pressed the issue and found a perimeter jumper near the top of the key to increase the Wings’ lead to 57-47 less than a minute later.
Shepard pulled up for a jumper of her own to give Dallas a 63-49 advantage with 3:43 left in the frame. Kuier nailed her third 3-ball of the game two possessions earlier. Both Kuier (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Shepard (18 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles in the books by the end of the third.
The Wings took a 69-54 lead into the fourth after answering the New York run in the third.
Down the stretch
The Liberty didn’t fold in the fourth. They had one more run in them. This time it was Ionescu and Marine Johannes who sparked a quick New York run to cut the Wings’ lead to 71-63 with seven minutes to play. Dallas turned the ball over on five of seven possessions midway through the fourth to help New York climb back in it.
Stewart got the ball inside on a no-look pass from Ionescu and scored over Kuier for a 3-point play with 5:23 remaining to make it 73-66.
Win another way
With their college coach Geno Auriemma on the call for ESPN, Bueckers and Azzi Fudd were both mired in poor shooting nights for long stretches against the Liberty. Through three-plus quarters, they had combined to shoot 6-for-23 from the field for just 14 combined points.
But the UConn backcourt duo woke up in the last six minutes of the game. Bueckers hit a perimeter jumper near the right elbow then zipped a pass to Shepard the next time down to extend the Wings’ lead to 79-68 with four minutes left. She hit her first 3-pointer of the game with 3:02 left to play, on Shepard’s 10th assist of the game, to give Dallas an 82-70 lead. Bueckers scored nine in the fourth quarter to finish with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Fudd finished with 12 more.
That completed Shepard’s third triple-double of the season. No one else in the WNBA has registered one yet this season.
