Arike Ogunbowale poured in 22 points with seven assists, and Jessica Shepard finished one assist short of a triple-double as the Dallas Wings continued their dominance of the defending champions with a 96-66 win over the Las Vegas Aces on Monday in a Commissioner’s Cup clash in Arlington, Texas.
Dallas (9-5, 4-2 in Commissioner’s Cup play) used a rousing second quarter to forge a 28-point lead and owned a 56-37 advantage at halftime. The Wings were up by 21 points after three quarters and Las Vegas never seriously made a charge at the end, allowing Dallas to stroll to the finish and win for the second time in its last three contests.
Las Vegas (10-4, 5-1) had its six-game winning streak snapped. The Aces have lost only three times in their last 10 games, with two of those losses coming against Dallas.
Azzi Fudd added 19 points for the Wings while making eight of her nine shots from the floor. Shepard finished with 15 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and Paige Bueckers and Aziaha James scored 10 points apiece for Dallas.
Jewell Loyd’s 21 points led Las Vegas’s sluggish offense, and A’ja Wilson scored 18. The Aces’ 66 points tied their season-low output.
After falling behind by 10 late in the first quarter, the Aces rallied to within 24-20 when Cheyenne Parker-Tyus canned a pair of free throws with 49 seconds left in the period. Dallas answered with the final five points of the quarter to go up 29-20 after 10 minutes of play.
The Wings quickly pulled ahead in the second, creating a 23-6 run over the first six minutes to take a 52-26 lead. Ogunbowale scored eight points during that spurt, and Fudd added seven straight to finish the run. Dallas increased the lead to 28 points before the Aces scored the final nine points of the quarter, closing the gap to 56-37 at halftime.
Loyd led all scorers in the half with 15 points while Wilson added 14 for Las Vegas. The other five Aces that saw the floor before halftime combined for just eight points.
Shepard’s 13 points and rebounds set the pace for the Wings in the first half, with Fudd and Ogunbowale adding 11 points each.
Las Vegas reduced the deficit to 17 points early in the third quarter, but the Wings quickly responded with a 12-2 run that increased their lead to 68-41 with 5:22 remaining in the period. Dallas held a 74-53 advantage going into the final quarter and never looked back.
–Field Level Media
