Sparks Fall Victim to Wings’ Balanced Attack in One-Point Defeat

Sparks Fall Victim to Wings’ Balanced Attack in One-Point Defeat
An official WNBA basketball shown during the league finals between the Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky in Phoenix on Oct 10, 2021. (Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY via Field Level Media)
Field Level Media
5/27/2024
Updated:
5/27/2024
0:00

LOS ANGELES—All five Dallas Wings starters scored in double figures, and Maddy Siegrist’s put-back with 36.1 seconds left produced an 84–83 WNBA victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Dallas (3–2) entered Sunday’s game coming off Saturday’s 107–92 win over the Phoenix Mercury. Arike Ogunbowale scored a team-high 40 points in that contest, and she led the Wings again with 20 against Los Angeles. Ogunbowale, however, shot just 7-for-30 from the field, including 0-for-8 from 3-point range.

Dallas used a balanced attack to make up for Ogunbowale’s season-low point total, as Monique Billings added 18 points and Siegrist finished with 15. Teaira McCowan and Sevgi Uzun rounded out the Wings’ starting five with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Billings hauled in 12 rebounds to record a double-double.

Rookie Cameron Brink paced the Sparks (1–4) with a game-high 21 points. Dearica Hamby added 19 points and 13 boards, while Lexie Brown netted 12 points.

Dallas outshot Los Angeles 42.1 percent to 39.5 percent. The Sparks hit only six treys—on 21 attempts—with three makes from deep coming from Brink. Aari McDonald hit a 3 with 5:25 remaining in the fourth quarter for a rare Sparks make, cutting Los Angeles’ deficit to 74–73.

Nearly a minute later, things were tied at 76–76 after Sparks center Li Yueru converted a three-point play. Hamby broke the tie with a layup, but a Siegrist free throw and four points from Billings put the Wings up 81–78 with 2:04 to go.

Brink answered with two free throws to make it a one-point game ahead of Siegrist’s pivotal putback, and Dallas hung on from there. Brown canned a triple with 1.5 seconds remaining to make things appear closer than they actually were.

Ogunbowale scored 13 of her points in the first half, helping the Wings take a 49–42 advantage into the break. Dallas led by as many as 12 in the third quarter.