Arike Ogunbowale led five Dallas scorers in double figures with 26 points and the visiting Wings thwarted a furious fourth-quarter rally to hold off the Seattle Storm for a 95-91 win on Friday.

Ogunbowale scored 19 points in the first half, including nine over a 17-0 run in the first quarter that gave Dallas (2-0) a lead it never relinquished.

Despite playing from ahead much of the night — and building a lead of as many as 17 points in the third quarter — the Wings needed a late-game defensive stand a put-back bucket from Satou Sabally to deny Seattle’s comeback effort.

The Storm (0-2) chipped away at the deficit throughout the second half thanks in part to Jewell Loyd’s game-high 30 points. The final five of Loyd’s output came on back-to-back scores, including a 3-pointer, that pulled Seattle within five points with 1:40 to go.

After Sabally was whistled for an offensive foul, Kia Nurse connected on a 3-pointer to cut Dallas’ lead to two points. Another offensive foul, this time on Natasha Howard, gave Seattle possession with a chance to either tie or take the lead in the final minute.

Sami Whitcomb missed a contested jumper, and after Arella Guirantes’ offensive rebound, Seattle was unable to get off another field-goal attempt before the shot clock expired.

On the ensuing possession, Sabally rebounded Crystal Dangerfield’s missed 3-point attempt and scored on the second-chance opportunity to effectively put the game away with 4.1 seconds left. The sequence gave Sabally a double-double, 10 rebounds to go with her 17 points.

Dangerfield also scored 17 on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Howard finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, and Jasmine Dickey added 10 points off the Dallas bench.

Nurse sank six field goals, all from behind the 3-point arc, and she finished with 20 points. Seattle’s Ezi Magbegor added 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

–Field Level Media

Elena Delle Donne swished a go-ahead, second-chance 3-pointer with 22.4 seconds to play and had a game-high 25 points to lift the Washington Mystics to a 71-69 win against the host Chicago Sky on Friday night.

Washington (2-2) handed Chicago (2-1) its first loss behind a big effort from Delle Donne. The ex-Sky standout, who improved to 11-2 against her former team, was 10-for-17 from the floor.

Shakira Austin posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds for Washington.

Chicago’s Courtney Williams drilled a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to tie the game at 66. Rebekah Gardner was hurt on Chicago’s ensuing possession as she attempted to corral a high pass on the baseline.

Marina Mabrey scored 19 points to lead four Chicago players in double figures. Williams (13), Kahleah Copper (12) and Dana Evans (10) were next.

Natasha Cloud had seven assists for the Mystics.

Delle Donne gave Washington its first points of the fourth quarter at the 6:11 mark, hitting a fadeaway for a 62-60 edge.

A Delle Donne jumper put the Mystics ahead 53-37 with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter, but the Sky responded with a strong closing kick to get back in the game.

Copper punctuated a 16-0 Sky run over the next 3:03 with a driving finger roll off the glass, tying the game at 53.

The Mystics regained the lead in their last possessions of the third on Amanda Zahui B’s corner 3-pointer and a Kristi Toliver four-point play.

Washington led 40-34 at halftime despite shooting 36.4 percent compared to 42.4 percent for Chicago.

The Mystics forced 12 Sky turnovers in the first half, however, scoring 14 points off of them.

Referees whistled Sky coach James Wade for a technical foul in the second quarter when he came onto the court to protest a non-call. A few minutes earlier, Chicago’s Alanna Smith left the game with her third personal foul.

Chicago’s Morgan Bertsch left the game late in the second quarter following a block on Austin. Bertsch appeared to suffer an ankle injury after landing awkwardly. She limped down the floor on the ensuing possession but couldn’t continue. Gardner started the second half for the Sky.

–Field Level Media

The WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces are unveiling their first championship banner and awarding the rings before Saturday night’s home opener with the Los Angeles Sparks.

And they’ll welcome back coach Becky Hammon, too.

Suspended for the first two games for comments she allegedly made to former player Dearica Hamby about her pregnancy that violated league rules regarding respect in the workplace, Hammon will be back on the bench for her team’s big night.

Her thoughts are about her team, not the spoils of last year’s success or Hamby’s return to town in a Sparks uniform.

“There’s no doubt I love this team,” Hammon said. “My girls know I love them and I’m proud and happy to be their coach. We have some pieces to build off. I think we’ve improved. I think we’ve got more depth.”

Las Vegas (2-0) rallied for a 94-85 win Thursday night in the first half of its home-and-home with Los Angeles (1-1). Jackie Young scored a game-high 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting as the Aces erased a 10-point halftime deficit with a 31-point third quarter.

But the game also showcased the Sparks’ renewed relevance in the WNBA. Playing without their best player, Nneka Ogwumike (non-COVID illness), they led by 12 points on four occasions in the first half. They forced 20 turnovers and came up with a whopping 16 steals.

“There’s no moral victories,” said first-year coach Curt Miller. “But as a foundational game and as a build process with us, I can’t be more proud of our compete and our fight.”

Chiney Ogwumike scored 19 points to pace Los Angeles and Lexie Brown added 15. Hamby was one of three players to tally 11 points and one of four players to collect at least three steals.

Hamby admits to having mixed feelings in her return to Las Vegas.

“I’m just going to try to be myself and play hard. I don’t want to try to do too much,” Hamby told Yahoo Sports. “… It will come with emotions, especially the first game there.”

Miller said there’s plenty of growth left for Los Angeles. Two key players, forward Azura Stevens (back) and guard Jasmine Thomas (knee), have yet to see action. Thomas is said to be closer to returning to game action than Stevens.

–Field Level Media

Breanna Stewart has quite a performance to follow up when she leads the New York Liberty into Saturday afternoon’s contest against the visiting Connecticut Sun.

Stewart set a career high and a franchise record when she scored 45 points on Sunday as the Liberty rolled to a 90-73 victory over the visiting Indiana Fever.

It was a resounding turnaround for Stewart, who had just 12 points in her Liberty debut in an 80-64 loss to the Washington Mystics on May 19. She made 15 of 21 shots — including 6 of 9 from 3-point range — against the Fever while breaking the club mark of 40 points, set by Cappie Pondexter in 2010.

“I didn’t know I broke any record. I looked up at the scoreboard at one time and had 37,” Stewart said afterward. “I was like ‘I didn’t know what just happened.’ I wanted to be more aggressive after last game … set the tone and be confident.”

Stewart joined the Liberty (1-1) after playing six seasons for the Seattle Storm. She won two WNBA titles in Seattle, was league MVP in 2018 and was a four-time All-Star.

Earlier this week, Stewart said she often forgets she switched teams.

“The transition has been interesting,” Stewart said. “I’m still struggling with which team I’m on when people ask me at the airport. I almost tell them Seattle even though I’m New York.”

Connecticut (3-0) is coming off a home-and-home sweep of the Washington Mystics. The Sun won 80-74 at home on Sunday and 88-81 at Washington on Tuesday.

In the latter game, Alyssa Thomas had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the charge. DeWanna Bonner added 15 points.

New Connecticut coach Stephanie White is pleased with the team’s unbeaten start.

“This team is tough,” White said. “They understand how to make winning plays, whether that’s on the defensive end, making a big stop, getting a critical rebound, getting a big score, finding ways to win ballgames.

“I thought they responded really well when Washington came out and knocked us in the mouth early. We were able to play a number of different combinations on the floor, still not as many as I’d like to but as a staff, we’re figuring that out.”

–Field Level Media