Wings stave off elimination in WNBA playoffs
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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Arike Ogunbowale was standing near Paige Bueckers waiting for the star guard to make a move on her dribble with the Dallas Wings trailing by three as the final seconds of regulation -- and their season -- ticked away.
Bueckers waved toward her backcourt mate, but she wasn’t telling Ogunbowale to get out of the way. She was telling her to get open.
After all, Bueckers knew who the hot hand was -- and it wasn’t the 2025 No. 1 overall pick and Rookie of the Year who is in her first playoff series.
Ogunbowale took a pass from Bueckers on the left baseline, dribbled toward the corner and hit an off-balance corner 3-pointer, sending the game to overtime and her on the way to a WNBA playoff-record 45 points as the Wings won a thriller 108-100 on Wednesday night, forcing a Game 3 in their first-round series.
The deciding game will be Friday night in San Francisco, where the Valkyries won the series opener by 24 points.
Golden State is trying to advance in the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s second season. The Wings are trying to reach the semifinals for the second time in six postseason appearances since moving to the Dallas area in 2016.
Ogunbowale opened the extra period of Game 2 by banking in a 3, then hit another one to put Dallas ahead for good at 103-100 with 1:46 remaining. The four-time All-Star easily topped her previous playoff best of 24 points after scoring 10 points on just seven shots in the series opener.
“We felt like we got pushed around out there when we played in San Francisco and especially me personally I don’t feel like I was aggressive,” said Ogunbowale, who was 5 of 8 from beyond the arc, 12 of 23 overall and 16 of 18 on free throws. “I didn’t know what I would score. I was going to shoot regardless because I just feel like seven shots isn’t enough to win playoffs and I have to be aggressive whether it’s going in or not.”
Bueckers, who scored 10 points, was mired in a 3-for-13 shooting night that included an air ball on a 3-pointer with the Wings trailing by three in the final two minutes of regulation. But she assisted on Ogunbowale’s tying 3, and again on a the banked 3 to start OT. Bueckers had four assists.
“For us to do what we did today without Paige having the type of game that she always has offensively for us, to come out with a win is huge,” Wings coach Jose Fernandez said. “We had other people step up.”
Ogunbowale’s shot for a 93-93 tie with 4.1 seconds left in regulation of Game 2 was followed by Gabby Williams getting called for an offensive foul on the inbound play after a Golden State timeout.
That call was reversed on replay, so instead of Aziaha James having a chance to give Dallas the lead at the free-throw line, there was a jump ball at center court with 3.0 seconds to go. After a scramble for the loose ball, Golden State’s desperation shot was way off target, and after the buzzer.
Williams scored a career-high 36 points, regular season or playoffs, but missed all six of her shots in the final 1:31 of overtime to finish 12 of 23 from the field.
“We got one at home, and we got to bring our best,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “That was not our best. Tomorrow’s got to be clear minds, clear focus, clear game plan, and then be ready to go for the game at home.”
Ogunbowale scored 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime -- 11 in each period. She passed her previous overall career high of 41 points with the 3 that put Dallas up for good.
Dallas’ Alysha Clark tied her playoff career high with 21 points, and Aziaha James added 13.
Kaila Charles scored 14 points for the Valkyries, and Kayla Thornton had 13.
With the scored tied at 98 in the extra period, Ogunbowale and Tiffany Hayes had to be separated after making contact. Both were called for flagrant fouls, and each made a pair of free throws with 2:26 remaining.
The Valkyries didn’t score again, shooting 2 of 12 in overtime.
DREAM 93, MYSTICS 75
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Allisha Gray scored 22 points, Jordin Canada had 13 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter, and the Atlanta Dream advanced to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2018, beating the Washington Mystics 93-75 in Game 2 of their first-round series on Wednesday night.
Atlanta, which had lost in the first round in each of the last three seasons, will host Game 1 of the semifinals on Sunday against New York, which swept Minnesota to become the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the league’s 30-year history.
Canada made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter, and she added a jumper from the free-throw line on Atlanta’s next trip for an 89-70 lead with 2:58 left.
Canada also had 11 assists and seven rebounds. Rhyne Howard finished with 15 points before fouling out with 6:03 left in the fourth quarter. Angel Reese also had 15 points and Naz Hillmon added 10.
Sonia Citron scored 25 points for Washington. Kiki Iriafen had 15 points and 16 rebounds and became the first player in franchise history to have a first-half double-double in a playoff game.
Atlanta led 41-28 with 1:26 left in the first half before Washington closed on a 7-0 run, capped by Citron’s shot in the lane just before the buzzer. The Mystics were hurt by 11 first-half turnovers.
Washington went on a 14-2 run starting in the third quarter to get within 65-62. But Atlanta scored the next 13 points, capped by a 3-pointer by Canada, to rebuild a double-digit lead at 78-62.
The Mystics were making their first playoff appearance since winning the 2019 WNBA championship.