Wings fall short; Atlanta Dream snag 77-72 win in Dallas' home opener

After a back-and-forth battle and taking the lead into halftime, the Dallas Wings couldn't pull past the Atlanta Dream and lost 77-72 in their WNBA season home opener Tuesday night.

Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas (1-1) with 20 points in a similar fashion to the Wings' game one win against the Indiana Fever. Paige Bueckers added 15, two rebounds and three assists and one block. Bueckers also notched a franchise record, eclipsing the 200 career-assist mark in just 38 games.

The Wings' Jessica Shepard had 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft, did not play due to a right knee injury.

Atlanta's newest addition, Angel Reese, had 12 points and 16 rebounds for her 51st career double-double, including eight offensive rebounds — one more than Dallas had as a team. 24-year-old Reese is now the second youngest WNBA player to reach 50 career double-doubles behind Tina Charles.

The game was pretty tight throughout, with eight lead changes and nine ties before the Dream went on a run in the fourth quarter. Canada sank a contested 3-pointer with 3:34 remaining to cap Atlanta's 15-6 run to begin the fourth for a 73-65 lead.

Despite the loss, there was a highlight: Dallas led at halftime for the second straight game, something the Wings only did 14 times last season.

But ultimately, both teams shot under 40% in the game, with the Wings finishing at 38.4% and just 15.4% shooting beyond the arc.  

During a press conference following the loss, Dallas head coach Jose Fernandez spoke about the shooting woes and what they need to work on going into the next game.  

"I think we need to do a better job when the ball is not going in the basket – grind down and defend better," he said. "That first half was very uncharacteristic of the things that we've done in those first three games (preseason)."

Fernandez also complimented the depth of his team and spoke about how well the second unit rotation did against the Dream.

The Wings' chemistry will grow and become more connected as the season gets underway.

Up next

Dallas continues a three-game homestand against Minnesota at College Park Center on Thursday, May 14. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. CT.