ARLINGTON, Texas – With their postseason play hanging by a thin thread, the Dallas Wings (14-15) 6 rallied together to come back from a 22-point deficit but simply could not put out the surging Connecticut Sun. (17-12)
The Wings knew that winning tonight’s match up would keep their playoffs hope alive. Unfortunately, they found themselves playing another game of catch-up yet again.
One thing that has kept Connecticut so successful lately is their ability to move the ball around and spread the floor exceptionally well. Don’t blink because you’ll miss the Sun scoring a quick six points.
Dallas struggled early to keep up with Connecticut’s fast paced offense. But that didn’t the Wings from battling; the lead changed a total of seven times in the opening quarter.
Behind Jasmine Thomas’s 10 points, the Sun lead 28-22 going into the second quarter.
Dallas’ star point guar Skylar Diggins-Smith made her return to the hardwood tonight after missing two games due to a facial injury. Her absence has been dearly missed as the Wings dropped those two games she missed.
Diggins-Smith looked like herself tonight making driving layups and going knocking down two three’s before halftime.
Dallas began to lose steam in the second frame allowing Connecticut to put some distance between the score. Their 13 fast-break points opened the door to dismantle the Wings defense.
Defense wasn’t the only thing looking shaky tonight. The Wings found much hardship early on from beyond going 3-14 (21.4%) at the half.
The shots weren’t falling and Connecticut took advantage.
The Wings trailed 48-32 going into halftime.
Theresa Plaisance entered the game for the first time in the third quarter and quickly drained back-to-back threes for the Wings. An offensive spark seemed to be on the horizon but Connecticut put a stop to that with their consistent shooting.
Before the fourth, the Sun was shooting 59.3% from the floor and 62.5% from behind the arc. You can credit Alyssa Thomas and Jasmine Thomas for being the main scorers.
Although the Wings scored 28 third quarter points, it just wasn’t enough to chip away at a now 22-point deficit going into the final quarter.
With just over five minutes left, Dallas trailed by 17 points. This was their final chance to close the gap and earn a come-from-behind victory on their home turf.
Dallas cranked up the intensity and made the game competitive again. Plaisance knocked down her third 3-pointer of the night to chop the deficit down to six points.
However, two fouls later Connecticut earned four quick points off the charity stripe.
Once again, the Wings comeback attempt was too little, too late. Dallas dropped their sixth consecutive game 101-92.
The Sun increased their win streak to now five straight games giving them a more secure spot in the standings.
FINAL STATS
Alyssa Thomas – 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists
Liz Cambage – 29 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists.
UP NEXT
The Wings will take on the No. 2 seed Atlanta Dream on Saturday.
