The Dallas Wings lost Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals to the Las Vegas Aces 91-84 on Tuesday night, putting themselves on the brink of elimination.
Dallas now faces a must-win situation as it enters Game 3 trailing 2-0 in a best-of-five series against the league’s best team and defending champion. WNBA teams have fallen behind 2-0 in a playoff series 16 times in league history, but none have come back to win the series.
“We’ve just got to focus on ourselves right now and just figure out how to end games,” Wings forward Natasha Howard told the media after Tuesday’s loss. “We’re not worrying about history and all this other stuff. … We just kind of focus on ourselves, starting on Thursday, get back to the drawing board, and hit the ground running to play Game 3.”
Dallas fell behind early and trailed by a significant deficit for most of the first half. However, the Wings mounted a rally just before halftime with a 20-9 run that extended into the third quarter and eventually tied the game at 49. Just as it did in Game 1, Vegas responded with a run of its own, as A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Kelsey Plum combined to give the Aces a 13-point lead through three quarters.
The Wings never quit, cutting the deficit to four with 1:36 remaining, but Wilson and Jackie Young each converted from the free-throw line to thwart the late rally.
“They went on all those different runs, and then we’d battle back, and then they’d go on another run, and then we’d have to battle back,” head coach Latricia Trammell told the media. “We’ve just got to sustain a lead and stay close and continue to execute at a high level of what we want to do.”
Wilson led all scorers with 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Gray had 23 points, and Plum added 18 points.
Arike Ogunbowale led the way for Dallas with 24 points, and Howard added 20 as Dallas had four players score in double figures.
The Wings are now 1-5 against Las Vegas this season, including the current postseason series. Slow starts have been an issue over the last two games, but the team has not lost faith in its process.
“We still have that competitive spirit, and we still have that championship mentality,” Trammell said. “… We’re here for a reason. We’re in the top four still playing, and a lot of people would love to be in our position right now. I know our team are competitors, and they’re going to come out angry and be even more prepared to win.”
The series shifts to DFW and continues with Game 3 at 8:30 p.m. CT on Friday in Arlington. The Wings will be eliminated with a loss and will force a Game 4 on Sunday at home with a win.
