Friday Night was a day that Dallas Wings fans have been waiting for since the season tipped off way back on May 20th.
Game one of the WNBA playoffs brought a different vibe from the College Park Center.
In a best-of-three series, getting off to a hot start in game one would be key; however, the Wings didn’t score until the 8:05 mark in the 1st quarter and trailed 16-11 in the opening frame.
Unfortunately, things would only worsen as the Dream led 36-21 after the first. Rhyne Howard has 19 points in an insane first quarter as Atlanta shot 6-7 from deep.
The second quarter didn’t start much better as the Wings trailed by as many as twenty early in the period. Just when things looked like they were about to slip away, the Wings took charge with bench production from players like Odyssey Sims and Maddy Seigrist to cut the Dream lead down to 43-35.
In what ended up being one of the Wing’s best quarters all season, Dallas came all the way back to tie the game at 49 heading into the locker room.
The Wings erased a twenty-point deficit in one quarter via a 28-8 run.
Unlike the first half, the third quarter was much of a back-and-forth one. The Wings took their first lead at the 4:22 mark. However, they would trail 70-67 after three, setting up an exciting finish.
With 5:45 to go in the game, Teaira McCowan recorded her 11th rebound and a putback to give the Wings the lead.
That bucket, followed by a Satou Sabally layup, had the Wings up 80-76 with under five minutes to play.
An Arike Ogunbowale steal and layup put the Wings up 87-80 with 2:59 to go, and it looked like Dallas was going to pull off the incredible comeback.
The Wings took down the Dream by a score of 94-82 in an incredible comeback to take a 1-0 series lead.
Dallas trailed by as many as 20 points.
Satou Sabally had an all-around game, scoring 32 points to go with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Arike Ogunbowale finished with 24 points, 7 assists, and 9 rebounds, and Teaira McCowan with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
The Wings also got great bench production tonight to help the team stay in it, including Odyssey Sims with a +14 effort.
Dallas now leads this best-of-three series 1-0 and has a chance to close it out with one more win.
Game two will be on Tuesday night from the College Park Center, where the Wings can advance to the second round with a win.
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