The New York Liberty can move closer to clinching the WNBA’s top spot when they square off against the Dallas Wings on Tuesday in the first of two games between the teams over a three-night stretch in Arlington, Texas.
The Liberty (29-6), who enjoy a three-game lead over the Minnesota Lynx with five games to play, hit the road after a 75-71 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday afternoon.
Breanna Stewart racked up 21 points and 11 rebounds while Jonquel Jones added 15 points and eight rebounds and canned two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining to seal the win, the third straight for New York. Sabrina Ionescu hit for 14 points in the Liberty’s battle against the two-time defending league champions.
“We just stay composed,” Ionescu said after the win. “We took great shots when we needed to, got the ball in the right people’s hands. We fought for every ball and got stops when we needed to. Obviously it wasn’t a pretty win, but you got to be able to win ugly.”
The Wings (9-26) head home after a 92-77 loss at the Chicago Sky on Sunday that eliminated them from the postseason race. Dallas dropped its fourth straight game and was the second team (along with Los Angeles) to be eliminated from the eight-team playoff.
Arike Ogunbowale posted 23 points for the Wings, with Natasha Howard scoring 17 and Satou Sabally adding 12. Dallas trailed by 24 points heading to the final quarter but fought back to within 14 with 3:49 to play before ultimately running out of gas.
Dallas, a semifinalist in last season’s playoffs, has been near the bottom of the standings throughout the year as it dealt with a slew of injuries. The Wings won three straight games at home in late August to rejoin the hunt for the final playoff spot but have faded as the calendar turned to September.
Expect rookie guard Jacy Sheldon to get plenty of court time down the stretch for the Wings.
“We’ve done a good job of controlling what we can control,” Sheldon said. “A lot of things have happened outside of our control this season but we’ve done a good job of staying together.”
The Liberty have captured the first two matchups this season, beating Dallas on Aug. 20 and 22 in New York.
–Field Level Media
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