Wings Can’t Find Stride, Lose to Sparks

Arlington - The Dallas Wings (1-8) suffered a 93-79 loss Friday night against the Los Angeles Sparks (3-6). 

The Sparks only had 12 points from the bench, but that didn’t matter. All five starters scored in double figures, featuring Azura Stevens who led all scorers with 21 points on 8-11 shooting. Odyssey Sims played a game high 34-minutes against her former team and scored 19 points. Dearica Hamby added 20 points.

Dallas had the opposite production before their home crowd. DiJonai Carrington was the only starter to reach double digits in scoring, leading all Dallas scorers with 16 points. Forced to play point guard in the absence of both Paige Bueckers and Ty Harris - Carrington committed a season-high seven turnovers.

"They exposed us more than anyone else has for not having a point guard tonight,” Dallas Coach Chris Koclanes expressed post-game. “It starts with me - I'm not going to make excuses."

Aside from Carrington's offensive contribution, Dallas' other five starters only accounted for 16 total points. Arike Ogunbowale struggled from the field, connecting on only four of her 10 attempts. 

The first half ended with Los Angeles holding a small 45-40 lead, however, the narrative quickly shifted to begin the second half. Dallas simply could not settle into an offensive rhythm. The home crowd watched as Los Angeles went on a fierce run and never looked back. 

One positive for the Wings was the contribution of the youthful bench. Rookie Luisa Geiselsoder completed her first double-double, scoring 11 points and collecting 10 rebounds. She also had six assists. Fellow rookie JJ Quinerly made the most of her 16 minutes on the court, scoring 14 points.

Dallas will face Minnesota (8-0) for the third time on Sunday.