Weekend Recap: The Wings edged out the Mercury in blowout-filled weekend

The Dallas Wings beat the Phoenix Mercury 95-89 in what had been a very tight game. The win ended Dallas’ three-game losing streak which began with a loss to the Mercury.

After falling to Dallas, Phoenix has now alternated wins and losses over the last six games.

The contest was pretty close, with the largest lead held by either team being seven points — by Dallas, on three separate occasions. The Mercury’s largest lead occurred early in the first quarter when they led 10-5. In spite of how close the game was, the Mercury only had the lead once and tied the score once in the second half.

Arike Ogunbowale had one of the best games of her career, scoring 33 points and making career-high six 3-pointers. She also tied her career-high of 13 made field goals.

Ogunbowale shot an impressive 13-of-19 from the floor and 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.

The Wings got tremendous help from two additional starters: Marina Mabrey, in her first career start, and Allisha Gray, the 2017 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Mabrey scored a career-high 17 points and made three 3-pointers for the second time in her young career. Gray poured in a season-high 20 points — just two points off her career-high of 22. And Katie Lou Samuelson was highly impactful off the bench with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists — her best game numbers in her 31 professional games.

Brittney Griner scored a team- and season-high 29 points for the Mercury and contributed seven rebounds. Skylar Diggins-Smith poured in 20 points, her third 20-point game of the season. Diana Taurasi, in her return from a back injury, scored 14 points, but was 3-of-10 from the floor. And Bria Hartley had her worst game of the season: three points on 1-of-7 shooting. With Hartley being a key player off the bench, leading the Mercury in scoring at times, she’ll need to score in double figures every time out.

Both teams shot 49.3 percent but it was the Wings’ 12 made 3-pointers — to the Mercury’s nine — that made the difference.

Up next

The Wings and the Mercury will get two days of rest and return to action on Wednesday, Aug. 19. The Wings face the Minnesota Lynx, who are coming off a convincing victory over the New York Liberty. The Mercury will look to avenge a season-opening loss against the Los Angeles Sparks.

The weekend’s other action

Las Vegas Aces’ bench led big win over Washington Mystics | 88-73

Led by Jackie Young’s 16 points, the Aces’ bench outscored the Mystics’ bench 52-22. The Aces shot 53.8 percent from the floor and were 6-of-13 from deep, led by Sugar Rogers who was 4-of-6 on 3-pointers, which accounted for all of her 12 points. Ariel Atkins scored a game-high 17 points but her team was 38.2 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 18 times to just 10 turnovers for the Aces. | Box Score

Riquna Williams’ big game helped Los Angeles Sparks triumph over the Indiana Fever | 90-76

Riquna Williams led the Sparks with 21 points off the bench, all of which came by her 7-of-12 performance on 3-point shooting. The game-high scorer was Kelsey Mitchell with 25 points and was 7-of-9 on 3-point shooting. The Fever’s starting five were highly effective, outscoring the Sparks’ starting 63-46 but 22 turnovers stifled Indiana’s offense. | Box Score

The Minnesota Lynx used a big second half to blowout the New York Liberty | 94-64

The Lynx held a nine-point lead at the half but outscored the Liberty 52-31 in the second half to leave no doubt which was the better team. Without Sylvia Fowles, Napheesa Collier took charge, scoring 26 point and contributing 13 rebounds. The Lynx shot 50.7 percent while utilizing their stout defense to keep the Liberty to 30.3-percent shooting and forcing 19 turnovers. | Box Score

The Seattle Storm extended their winning streak to eight games over the Connecticut Sun | 95-72

Breanna Stewart scored a game-high 19 points. Natasha Howard had her best game of the season 12 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. The Storm were on fire, shooting 56.9 percent and 13-of-23 from deep while the Sun were 3-of-20 from beyond the arc and 36.7 percent overall. The Sun’s biggest regret will be their 16 offensive rebounds that turned into just 17 points. | Box Score

The Chicago Sky handed the Atlanta Dream their eighth-straight loss in big win | 92-67

Cheyenne Parker led all scorers with 17 points as one of four players for the Sky who scored in double figures. The Sky shot 57.8 percent and held the Dream to 39.7 percent from the floor. The Sky capitalized on the Dream’s mistakes, converting 16 turnovers into 26 points while the Dream rescued just 16 points from 17 Chicago turnovers. | Box Score