Arlington, TX — If you were looking for something to do on a Tuesday night and couldn’t find anything that was entertaining enough, you should’ve looked no further than the Dallas Wings game versus the Phoenix Mercury.
What started as a typical basketball game turned into a show of impressive moves and basketball plays that are rare to see in one 40-minute game by the Dallas Wings. The Wings finished the game with an almost 30-point win over the Mercury, 101-72.
At first, the Wings seemed to be rushing their offense at times, but a lot of that energy and aggressiveness turned out to work in their favor as they forced the Mercury to turn it over on a couple key possessions. They finished the first quarter with a hefty lead over the top-tier Mercury 32-19.
“I thought the first half of the ballgame, we just came up with a lot of energy defensively. We had to put a lot of pressure on the perimeter game. I thought our players really stepped up and took the challenge,” Wings Head Coach Fred Williams said after the win.
This same aggression is why the Wings were able to pull away and literally fly to a 20-point advantage going into halftime and continue to lead throughout the game. To make matters worse for the Mercury, Diana Taurasi did not return after halftime due to an illness.
“Obviously, Diana being sick at the start of the game, it hurts us, but that’s no excuse. That team was ready, that team was way tougher than us,” Mercury Head Coach Sandy Brondello said. “They had more sense of urgency, they out-played us in every way. It’s just disappointing, really disappointed in our effort.”
After the loss of such a prolific scorer in Taurasi, the Mercury had trouble creating a flow even though they fought well in the third quarter.
“They came out and played very aggressive from the beginning, and we played catch-up the whole game. Once they go on a run, they’re a really good team and hard to stop,” Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner said. “We need to come out a little more aggressive, but they definitely did a good job coming out.”
Skylar Diggins-Smith led all scorers with 20 points, her ninth 20-plus point game and her 11thtime this season she has led in points scored. Azura Stevens also had a double-digit performance, which was her fourth consecutive game posting those numbers. The rookie finished with 15 points combined with seven rebounds.
For Phoenix, Brittney Griner led all scorers with 21 points and three rebounds, and Bonner followed closely behind with 20 points to match.
This win gives the Wings a four-game win streak, with their next matchup being the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles on July 12 while the Mercury will travel to Connecticut to play the Sun on July 13.
