The Dallas Wings snagged a gritty 94-88 win over the Toronto Tempo, and let me tell you, they needed it. This might have been a disjointed game, but after slipping from fourth in the WNBA standings just two weeks ago all the way down to eighth, stopping the bleeding was the only thing that mattered. With losses in five of their previous six games, this win, ugly or not, pulls Dallas to 20 wins with 12 games still left to play, a massive leap for the franchise, even as the universe seems to be conspiring against them.
The Fight For An Early Lead, Missing Pieces And All
Man, the vibe around Dallas has been a little off lately, but they came out swinging in the first quarter. Odyssey Sims, with her college coach Kim Mulkey watching courtside, drilled two 3-pointers right out of the gate, giving the Wings an 8-6 lead. But here’s the rub: without Jessica Shepard in the lineup after she twisted her right ankle in Sunday’s loss, Dallas was giving up way too many second-chance buckets. The Tempo got three of them in the first four minutes because the Wings just couldn’t box out. Azzi Fudd also missed her third straight game with a right knee injury, and you gotta wonder if it’s more serious than the team initially let on when they first called her absence an “abundance of caution.” Still, Sims kept finding Alanna Smith for easy buckets, pushing the lead to 14-8 and forcing Toronto coach Sandy Brondello into an early timeout. Dallas kept rolling, hitting a 25-17 lead on another Smith 3-ball, then Aziaha James made it a double-digit lead, 27-17, with a back-cut for an easy score.
The Tempo’s Charge, And Dallas’s Hold
You knew Toronto wasn’t going to roll over, right? The Tempo started clawing their way back in the second quarter. Dallas lost its touch from outside, and Kia Nurse found hers, draining back-to-back 3-pointers from the left wing for Toronto. Then came the real scare in the third when Marina Mabrey started absolutely cooking. She single-handedly started a fourth-quarter 3-point barrage that almost wiped out an 18-point third-quarter deficit. Seriously, that woman was on a mission! But despite their best player starting 0-for-7 from the field and playing with a depleted starting lineup, Dallas just had enough in the tank to outlast her. They held on, they survived, and they got the win.
What’s next for Dallas? Every single win matters this time of year, especially when you’re fighting tooth and nail to stay in the mix. They’ve got 12 more games to solidify their spot and prove that this win wasn’t a fluke, but a turning point. Let’s see if they can build on this.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Mavs Moneyball.
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