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ARLINGTON, TX — The Dallas Wings earned a competitive 113-110 victory on Sunday against the Los Angeles Sparks. Arike Ogunbowale led the way with 33 points, while Natasha Howard added 30. Jacy Sheldon, though, stepped up at the point guard position and set a new career-high with eight assists while turning the ball over just once.
Sheldon did not have her best all-around offensive game. In fact, she scored only two points in the win. Sheldon's contributions were important, though, as she consistently set up the offense and made the right pass. So what does the future hold for Sheldon at the point guard position?
“Just continuing to get more comfortable and continuing to affect the game offensively,” Sheldon told ClutchPoints. “Making baskets, too. I love passing, I love getting shots for my teammates, but I love scoring, too. I think this team needs me to do more of that and I think I'm able to do more than that… So I think just getting more comfortable with those scoring opportunities and continuing to stack up those assists, too.”
Jacy Sheldon the “Energizer Bunny”
Sheldon made it clear that she wants to get her teammates involved. With that being said, the Wings rookie also wants to find a way to score more consistently. After all, Sheldon previously said she modeled her game after Devin Booker, one of the NBA's better scorers.
It is her ability to help out in multiple facets of the game while playing at a fast pace that led Wings had coach Latricia Trammell to call her the “Energizer Bunny.”
“What we always see, she's just so consistent,” Trammell said of what the Wings saw from Sheldon on Sunday. “Just her energy. I think that's the biggest thing, just her confidence. She can get out and play defense and run through some passing lanes. With Jacy, she's just the Energizer Bunny.”
Trammell also gave credit to Sevgi Uzun for helping with point guard duties.
“I'm going to give credit, too, to Sev,” Trammell said. “You know, Jacy has been starting but Sev came in… and played extremely well down the stretch. So it's great when you have two players like that at that point guard position that can play off of each other. One is kind of struggling a little bit, the other one can pick them up.”
Pace is certainly crucial. Sheldon and Uzun both impacted the game in that sense.
“I've been point guard pretty much my whole life,” Sheldon said. “So I've had a lot of practice there. My dad was a coach, it's something he instilled in me at a young age, just kind of being able to see the floor. I've been on a lot of teams that push the pace. I think that helps, too. It slows the game down in a way where lanes open up and I think on this team specifically so many players can do so many things… They make it easier, they make the reads easier.
“You already know… I don't want to say you already know what the defense is going to do, but you have a pretty good idea. So that definitely helps.”
Sheldon addresses Wings trust in her, Arike Ogunbowale's impact
Sheldon has continued to earn more minutes and starts throughout the season. Trammell and the Wings seem to believe in Sheldon. Dallas has previously endured point guard uncertainty, but the Wings are giving Sheldon an opportunity to run the position.
Rookies do not always receive such important opportunities. Sheldon is grateful for the team's belief in her.
“It's huge,” Sheldon said of Trammell trusting her. “Just kind of getting to know the offense and defense, which I have. She's (Trammell) been great. She's been patient and she's been really helpful on both sides of the floor implementing me. Learning how to play with these girls, too, so she's been a huge help.”
Of course, Arike Ogunbowale is one of the best players in the league. Ogunbowale is a versatile guard who can play both point and shooting guard. Having a veteran to help her development as a guard so far in the WNBA is something Sheldon does not take for granted.
“Absolutely… She just gives me confidence,” Sheldon said of Ogunbowale. “When you have people like her and Satou (Sabally) and (Natasha Howard) telling you to be aggressive, you better go out there and be aggressive. It's been awesome playing with them and learning from them, also being able to play off of each other and I think that connection is only going to grow… as we play more together. So it's exciting.”
