ARLINGTON, Texas — Diamond DeShields led a balanced attack with 16 points and the Chicago Sky dominated the fourth quarter to defeat the Dallas Wings 83-74 on Saturday night to split the season-opening series.
The Sky outscored the Wings 28-11 in the fourth to erase an eight-point deficit, getting contributions from a number of players while Arike Ogunbowale had nine of the 11 Wings points.
Marina Mabrey, who scored all 14 of her points in the second half, got the Sky going with a 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. Elizabeth Williams made back-to-back baskets before Angel Reese’s three-point play gave the Sky a 67-65 lead with 6:29 to play.
Reese finished a 14-0 run that made it 72-65 with 4½ minutes left. Ogunbowale scored the next nine points for Dallas, but the Sky continued to pull away.
In the season opener Wednesday, Ogunbowale scored 14 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Wings, down two with 3:16 to play, scored 14 straight points down the stretch to win 87-79. In that game, Dallas had a 60-42 advantage in points in the paint, but in the rematch it was 28-24 for the Sky.
Williams had 12 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and five blocks, Dana Evans and reserve Chennedy Carter also scored 12 apiece and Reese had 11 points and nine rebounds. Mabrey had nine rebounds, eight assists and five steals.
Ogunbowale finished with 35 points for Dallas, and Kalani Brown had 11 off the bench.
The Wings broke away from a 26-26 tie to take a 42-30 lead at halftime. The Sky were 1 of 9 behind the 3-point line and shot 28% (11 of 39) overall.
Ogunbowale had 10 points in the third quarter as the Wings took a 63-55 lead into the fourth quarter.
Dallas was short-handed after losing two starters in Wednesday’s win. Natasha Howard played Wednesday with a broken foot and now will miss at least a month, while Jaelyn Brown suffered a broken nose that will sideline her for about a week.
The Wings signed Monique Billings to a Hardship Contract and she joined the team Friday night. She was a last cut by the Los Angeles Sparks after playing the previous six seasons in Atlanta. Billings played 20 minutes Saturday and had five points and four rebounds.
Associated Press , 2024-05-19 04:43:44
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