Marina Mabrey scored 23 points to go with eight assists and Kahleah Copper followed with 16 points to boost the host Chicago Sky to a 94-88 win against the Dallas Wings on Sunday.
Chicago (3-1), which had six double-figure scorers, held on after leading by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter.
After Dallas drew to within 87-85 on Satou Sabally’s three-point play with 59.1 seconds to go, Chicago scored the next six points to seize control.
Alanna Smith (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Courtney Williams (12 points, 11 rebounds) notched double-doubles for the Sky. Dana Evans scored 14 points, and Sika Kone added 10 in her WNBA debut.
The Wings (2-1) stayed afloat behind a balanced attack that featured four players in double figures. Arike Ogunbowale scored 27 points and Sabally had 24, while Natasha Howard (14) and Crystal Dangerfield (11) were next.
Sabally led the team with eight rebounds.
A Dangerfield trey with 9:30 remaining gave Dallas a 71-70 edge, but Evans answered on the next possession and the Sky never trailed after that. Evans’ play sparked a 9-0 run over 2:22.
Chicago persevered with just nine available players. Starter Morgan Bertsch (ankle) and fellow frontcourt contributor Rebekah Gardner (foot) remained out after leaving the Sky’s 71-69 home loss to Washington on Friday with injuries.
Wings center Teaira McCowan (knee/ankle), who was listed as questionable for the game Saturday, was ruled out shortly before tipoff. She was injured in the team’s season-opening win on May 20.
Chicago led 49-45 at halftime. The first 20 minutes featured plenty of highlights from Mabrey and Ogunbowale, former teammates at Notre Dame and Dallas who each had 15 points at the break.
While Mabrey did much of her damage from deep, going 3-for-6 from long range, Ogunbowale was effective at getting to the basket. Howard was the only other double-figure scorer in the first half, with 11 points.
The Sky led by as many as eight points in the first half and looked primed to extend the margin, but the Wings kept things close by applying pressure. Dallas turned 10 first-half Chicago turnovers into 15 points.
–Field Level Media
