Five-Game Streak Highlights Wings Success
During the month of July, the Wings have gone 6-1. Key wins include beating the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty. So, just how good is this team?
Last week, the Dallas Wings broke a WNBA record by having only two turnovers in their win against the New York Liberty. Three days later, Natasha Howard and Satou Sabally broke another WNBA record, as they became the first pair of teammates to record at least 25 points and 11 rebounds in a game.
With a five-game winning streak, Dallas seems to be riding high. Some key victories including beginning the one-seeded Las Vegas Aces and two-seeded New York Liberty.
“We are just in that winning mentality, its contagious. Players are having fun, they want to win, I’m really just so ecstatic for this team,” coach Latricia Trammell said.
Against the Los Angeles Sparks Saturday, the Wings dominated in every frontcourt category. The team out-rebounded Los Angeles by 14 and collected five more blocks. Inside the paint, Dallas lead the way with 54 points.
One difference has been the been return of Teaira McCowan. Since she rejoined the team, Dallas has gone 8-3. During the month of July, McCowan has averaged a double-double in four of the team’s seven games.
“We are a so much better basketball with her (McCowan) on the court offensively and defensively, major impact player,” Trammell said. “I’m a Tea fan, and she is going to continue to compete and play at a high level”
Along with McCowan, the big three of Arike Ogunbowale, Howard, and Sabally have all seemed to be dominating. Combined, the three of them have led the team in either points, or rebounds. As mentioned, both Howard and Sabally had 25 or more points and 11 rebounds against LA. Ogunbowale joined in on the fun with 25 points, as she went 44% from three.
On the defensive side, the Wings seem to have found their niche. Against the Aces, Dallas had the advantage in most defensive categories including: steals (six more), defensive rebounds (six more), and overall rebounds (11 more). As for blocks, both teams tied with four.
Fast forward to the Liberty game, Dallas also finished with more steals and rebounds, while tying in blocks and defensive rebounds.
Right now, Dallas seems to playing a lot of balanced basketball. Against the Lynx two weeks ago, Dallas seemed to be the most balanced on both sides of the court. The team won by 40 points, while also shooting 51.9 percent from the field. Defensively, the Wings had nine blocks, four steals, and 31 defensive boards. On Saturday, the team shot 53.9 percent while also dropping in nine steals, and six blocks.
“We stopped their runs when we needed too, we locked in defensively when we needed too, and I think a lot of times that’s what turns into our offense,” Trammell said. “That’s when we got easy run out baskets, and it was really good.”
Another attribute to the team’s success is their performance in the third quarter. In the Sparks game, Dallas out scored LA 25-19. During the final three minutes of the quarter, the Wings went on a 10-5 run. In a timespan of 25 seconds the team grabbed four rebounds.
The third quarter was a key factor in the win against New York. After halftime, Dallas outscored the Liberty 29-16. In the quarter, Ogunbowale dropped in 12 points, while shooting 5-6 from the field.
“We talk about the third quarter all the time. it’s kind of been our Achilles heel at times, and so I just mention to them third quarter has got to be big,” Trammell said.
Currently, the Wings sit three and half games back from the second and third seed. Look for Dallas to try and continue their dominance this week, as they host the three-seeded Connecticut Sun and fifth-seeded Washington Mystics before heading on the road to face the Aces.
“We’ve really come a long way and it’s nice to see things flourishing, but it’s extra scary because we aren’t even at our peak yet,” Sabally said. “Our ceiling is so high and we haven’t crash the surface yet.”