(Photo credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images)

Balanced attack pushed Wings past hapless Sun

Arike Ogunbowale hit for 18 points and Jessica Shepard amassed 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Dallas Wings dismantled the Connecticut Sun 97-71 on Sunday in Arlington, Texas,

It was the final WNBA game in advance of the two-week break for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.

The Wings (24-16) won their fourth straight game and pulled into a tie for sixth with the New York Liberty and Washington Mystics in the league standings with four games to play.

Dallas already has clinched its first playoff spot since 2023. The result added to the team's record for most wins in a season since the franchise (formerly in Detroit and then Tulsa) moved to Dallas before the 2016 campaign.

The Wings led by 14 points after one period and by 13 at halftime before all but clinching the game with a dominating third quarter in which they outscored the Sun 23-12 to go up 83-59. The fourth quarter was purely academic as Connecticut did not make a serious run at the deficit and dropped its fifth game in six contests.

Paige Bueckers added 15 points (all in the first half) and reserve Maddy Siegrist tallied 11 as Dallas swept the season's three-game series with the Sun.

Connecticut's Aaliyah Edwards tied a career high with 26 points to lead all scorers while Charlisse Leger-Walker pumped in 17 for the Sun (10-30), who will not make the playoffs in their final season in Connecticut.

Dallas led by 11 points when Siegrist canned a turnaround fadeaway jumper with 54 seconds to play in the first period before teammate Alysha Clark poured in a 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left that gave the Wings a 32-18 lead after 10 minutes of play.

The Wings expanded the margin to 16 points on Ogunbowale's jumper 36 seconds into the second quarter. Connecticut chipped away at its deficit, drawing to within 49-41 on Edwards' jumper at the 2:34 mark, but the Wings responded, finishing the half with an 11-6 run to carry a 60-47 lead to the break.

Edwards led all scorers before halftime with 21 points while Leger-Walker added 11 for Connecticut. Dallas was paced by Bueckers' 15 points, and Ogunbowale and Shepard racked up a dozen apiece.

--Field Level Media