The Dallas Wings lost 81-72 against the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night in LA. Dallas fell to 3-6 with the defeat. Wings star Arike Ogunbowale led the team with 22 points, four assists, and four steals, and she issued a “locked in” message to Dallas after the disappointing contest.

“We just gotta be more locked in,” Ogunbowale said. “The injuries are the injuries. We can't get people back that are hurt (right now). What we have is good enough. We won with this same team last time. To come back and lose is tough but it's not long that we can sit and think about this because we have Phoenix Sunday. But definitely we got to watch the film, see what we did wrong and fix that for Sunday.”

Ogunbowale is having a terrific year. She played well once again on Friday. The emergence of second-year player Maddy Siegrist has been encouraging for Dallas as well, however. Siegrist scored 21 points and added six rebounds against the Sparks.

“Just continuing to be aggressive,” Siegrist said of how she can build off the performance. “Trust the work you put in, trust the plays that we're running. You know, it's always nice to play well but it doesn't feel good when you lose games.”

Players such as Monique Billings and Teaira McCowan have also performed well in recent action. Playing without Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard is challenging to say the least, but there is reason for hope.

Arike Ogunbowale, Wings looking to bounce back vs. Mercury

Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) reacts during the first half against the Chicago Sky at College Park Center.
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The Wings have a quick turnaround as they will play in Arlington on Sunday against the Phoenix Mercury. Phoenix is 5-6 in 2024 but they feature enough talent to challenge any team in the WNBA.

“Just watching film… We gotta have short-term memory especially with this schedule because you can't really sulk too much,” Ogunbowale added later. “I mean, I'm ready for the load (of leading the Wings). My teammates have helped me of course. Maddy… She did a lot for us. (McCowan) is always there, (Billings) is always there. It depends on the night, it might be somebody else. As a whole, we just have to play as a unit and we will get more wins.”

The Wings have endured a number of ups and downs early in the WNBA season. They have only played three home games so far. Dallas may be able to find their groove once they settle in and start playing in front of their home fans on a more consistent basis once again.

Sunday's affair will open a three-game homestand for the Wings. Dallas will play Phoenix on Sunday before hosting the Seattle Storm on Thursday and Connecticut Sun on Saturday. So what exactly is the key for a Wings' bounce-back performance?

“I think we've gotta handle better when other teams go on runs,” Wings head coach Latricia Trammell said after Friday's loss. “We're short-handed, but it's that adversity that hits because you want to win so bad. We just got to have a short-term memory… and just finish the game.”

The Wings will host the Mercury on Sunday at 4 PM EST.