Arlington, TX — Without a doubt, both the Los Angeles Sparks and the Dallas Wings were on a bit of a roll entering College Park Center in Arlington, Texas this afternoon. Maintaining the second-best record in the league, on a four-game winning streak, and holding a 2-1 record versus Dallas this season, the Sparks, arguably, appeared to have the upper-hand.
The Wings, however, set their sights on notching another home-court victory to follow up their dominant performance against Seattle just two short days ago. On Friday, the team set a franchise record of 16 three-pointers and tied the league’s record along with it.
“I think our goal and our focus is to protect our home court,” stated Dallas Wings forward Glory Johnson, and that is exactly what her team accomplished.
Surprising many, the Wings soared past the reigning league champions to boast their second win against Los Angeles this season, 85-79. Johnson added her 10th career double-double to her resume as she heavily contributed 23 points and 13 rebounds today.
Johnson was not the only Dallas player in double-digits. Noteworthy, teammates Karima Christmas-Kelly, Skylar Diggins-Smith, and Aeriel Powers all joined in on the effort with over 12 points apiece.
Powers’ play speaks to the advantage the Wings’ bench held over their visitors’ as Powers and Theresa Plaisance alone put up 24 points compared to the bench of the Sparks -- a meek six. Bench play and rebounding, Dallas coming out on top 47-31 total, proved to be key components to their victory this evening.
The Wings are currently sitting in the uncomfortable seventh seed position with capabilities to move the needle either way. When asked about what the team’s focus is for the remainder of the regular season, Head Coach Fred Williams had this to say:
“We talk about one game at a time and controlling our destiny. It’s a goal of ours to continue to push hard and play hard in the course of the rest of the season. It’s not an easy league, and each game is a challenge. The main thing is getting there and getting our ticket punched for the dance.”
Their next challenge will be facing the Phoenix Mercury this Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT, fortunately again, at home in Arlington.