The Dallas Wings defeated the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, August 25, the day after Kobe Bryant Day. Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings to a 113-110 victory after scoring 33 points and recording seven assists. After the game, Ogunbowale addressed what it means to earn a victory the day after Kobe Bryant Day.
“I mean, obviously we always think about Kobe,” Ogunbowale said. “But just for the team, this was a great win… Both of us (Wings and Sparks) have kind of the same record… they got us last time at home. It kind of left a bad taste in our mouth. We obviously didn't start off well. But that's how we finish. That just shows you can come back from anything.”
It was certainly an epic win. The Wings completed a come-from-behind victory as Ogunbowale and Natasha Howard led the way. Howard added 30 points and seven rebounds in the win. It was Teaira McCowan, however, who made the go-ahead shot late in the fourth quarter.
McCowan's shot gave the Wings the lead and they never looked back.
Wings bounce back against Sparks
The Wings defeated the Sparks 84-83 early in the season. LA rebounded and earned back-to-back victories against Dallas in June and July, though. The Wings wanted to get back into the win column against the Sparks and they accomplished that feat in competitive fashion on Sunday.
“Our fourth quarter was probably one of our best fourth quarters we've had,” Ogunbowale said. “In the league obviously every team is good. You know, being down 11 with three and a half minutes left is obviously doable because we did it, but it's really hard in the WNBA… For us to rally together and get stops when it mattered even though for 30-plus minutes we weren't getting stops like we needed to. But we did when it mattered, so I'm glad we got this win.”
The Wings' defense has been unreliable at times throughout the 2024 season. Part of that is due to their previous injury concerns. Playing without Satou Sabally, Maddy Siegrist and Jaelyn Brown did not help the situation.
Dallas' offense features a high-ceiling. If the defense can begin to play at a more consistent level with the aforementioned players now back from injury, perhaps the Wings can make some noise down the final stretch of the season.
The Wings' schedule presents two immense challenges next, though. Although they will be playing both games at home, the Wings are set to host the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday and the Minnesota Lynx on Friday.
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