As Dallas rookie guard JJ Quinerly put it, the Wings “punched first” in their 98-89 victory over the visiting Phoenix Mercury on Thursday.
The ball will be in the Mercury’s court when the teams meet for a rematch Monday in Phoenix.
“These are kind of fun games, fun series,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “When you get a team back-to-back, especially the way that they came after us. We’ll have to be ready to respond, and I believe in our group.”
The Wings (6-13) used a 32-point first quarter to take a lead it never lost Thursday, a victory that evened the season series at one game apiece after the Mercury withstood a 35-point performance from Paige Bueckers in a 93-80 win on June 11.
Bueckers had 23 points and five assists and Aziaha James had a career-high 28 points including five 3-pointers Thursday, when the Wings started four rookies.
“We came out and punched first,” Quinerly, who had 17 points and seven assists, told the Dallas Hoops Journal. “We got up the floor quick, got into transition and got some quick shots up. That gave us confidence and we just kept building.”
Kahleah Copper had a season-high 33 points for the Mercury in her sixth game back from preseason left knee surgery, and former Wing Satou Sabally scored 20 in her Dallas return.
The Mercury pared an 18-point deficit to four late in the third period before the Wings responded.
“I thought they got extremely comfortable,” Tibbetts said. “And when you allow a team to play comfortable, it’s going to be a long night. We need to be tougher defensively, for sure.”
Dallas sent the Mercury (12-6) to their second straight defeat while winning for the fifth time in seven games. The Wings shot 61 percent in the first half.
“We’ve been talking about playing a full 40 minutes,” Wings coach Chris Koclanes said. “(Thursday) wasn’t perfect, but it was close. We started strong, shared the ball, defended and trusted each other.”
Dallas guard Arike Ogunbowale missed her first game Thursday with a thumb injury, and teammate DiJonai Carrington was out with a rib injury. Both are among the usual starters.
“We’ve always had it in us,” Bueckers said. “If you look at our games, we’re always in it. Our record could be flipped if we just closed out better. We’ve had that belief, and now it’s coming together. On any given night it can be anybody’s night.”
–Field Level Media
