Jessica Shepard recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists as the Dallas Wings held off the Portland Fire 101-97 on Wednesday night.
Arike Ogunbowale led all scorers with 24 points, while Paige Bueckers added 21 in her return after missing Monday's loss to the New York Liberty following a collision with Nneka Ogwumike. Bueckers was listed as questionable before the game but started and played a key role throughout.
The Wings improved to 18-9, bouncing back from a 99-98 home defeat that had ended a six-game winning streak. Portland fell to 17-10 despite a furious fourth-quarter rally.
Megan DiLeo, formerly known as Megan Gustafson and playing under her married name after her wedding in Iowa over the weekend, scored 21 points to lead the Fire. She made a layup and Karlie Samuelson added a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 91-88 with 2:34 remaining.
Azzi Fudd and Bueckers responded with consecutive three-pointers to restore a 99-90 lead with 1:21 to go, but DiLeo scored on a running layup and Samuelson turned a steal into a basket to make it 99-97. Portland had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Bridget Carleton's jumper from the top of the key missed at the buzzer.
Dallas led 76-69 entering the fourth quarter after Ogunbowale's running layup extended the advantage. The Wings had taken a 42-40 lead into halftime after trailing 15-8 early, with Maddy Siegrist's three-pointer tying the game at 15-15 and Bueckers' triple putting them ahead.
Portland's Sarah Ashlee Barker appeared to injure her left knee in a hard fall under the basket in the first quarter and did not return.
Before the game, Portland's Bridget Carleton was honored by the home crowd for her selection to the three-point contest at the WNBA All-Star festivities on Friday in Chicago. Fudd will also participate, alongside Toronto's Marina Mabrey, Atlanta's Rhyne Howard, Seattle's Natisha Hiedeman and Golden State's Janelle Salaun.
Sources
- https://apnews.com/article/wings-fire-score-e5fefe7d7b50584e08c852b644a64907
