WNBA Playoffs: Dallas Wings dominate Connecticut, force game three

Faced with the prospect of elimination, the No. 6 Dallas Wings made a statement on Sunday. The Wings defeated the No. 3 Connecticut Sun, 89-79, in a must-win WNBA first round playoff game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

It is the franchise’s first WNBA playoff win since 2009, when the team (then the Detroit Shock) defeated the Atlanta Dream. In the last 13 years, the franchise has moved twice (from Detroit to Tulsa, then Tulsa to Dallas) and failed to qualify for the WNBA playoffs eight of 12 seasons.

“It just shows the resilience and focus of this team,” six-year Wings veteran Allisha Gray said of the ended drought.

Dallas’ win is even more notable given the result of the first game of the series, when they were overwhelmed by the Sun, 93-68.

“The first thing I told my team is ‘I don’t recognize my team,'” Dallas coach Vickie Johnson said after that loss. “We went back to our old habits, complaining, not taking accountability, and looking at ourselves first. So, we have to change that.”

Change they did.

By the start of the fourth quarter, the Wings were up by 31 points. Kayla Thornton led the charge with 20 points, while three other Wings players finished the day with double-digit points (Teaira McCowan, 17; Gray, 15; Marina Mabrey, 14).

Team basketball at its finest