Erica Wheeler came off the bench with 11 second-half points to lead the Seattle Storm in an 83-77 win over the Dallas Wings on Tuesday in Seattle.
Gabby Williams led Seattle (4-4) with 18 points and Nneka Ogwumike scored 14 points with nine rebounds, but it was a 30-14 bench advantage that ended the Storm’s three-game losing streak. Wheeler finished with 11 points and seven assists.
With star rookie point guard Paige Bueckers out with a concussion, DiJonai Carrington led the Wings with 22 points while Myisha Hines-Allen tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Arike Ogunbowale scored eight points, her third single-digit scoring performance in eight games this season after having two in the last two years combined.
Dallas (1-7) regained a lead by scoring six of the first eight points in the final 10 minutes, but a hustle play by Wheeler turned the momentum in Seattle’s favor when the guard jumped out of bounds, going over the first row of fans, to save a possession. Seattle scored seven points in a row, with a 3-point shot by Williams with 6:07 remaining giving the Storm a two-point lead.
Dallas held an 11-point lead in the third quarter, but the Storm responded with a 16-2 run to take a one-point lead — Seattle’s first advantage since the 6:59 mark of the second quarter.
The Wings earned that advantage because they played staunch defense in the first half, especially on Seattle’s leading scorer, point guard Skylar Diggins. The six-time All-Star missed all three shots in the first half and did not pick up her first points of the game until the third quarter. She finished with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting.
It was also Dallas’ work on the boards that frustrated Seattle coach Noelle Quinn in the first half, with the Wings outrebounding the Storm 30-17. Of those 30 rebounds, 11 came on the offensive boards, compared to only one for Seattle.
–Field Level Media
