When the Dallas Wings began to chip away at the Dream’s 18-point lead in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s contest, the script looked all too familiar to the first three games of the season for the franchise. After Wings forward NaLyssa Smith notched 2-of-3 free throws on a flagrant foul, Arike Ogunbowale found a cutting Kaila Charles for a layup, slicing the Dream’s lead to 70-65 midway through the fourth quarter.
“We had a little bit of a let up on the defensive end to start the fourth,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said postgame. “We kind of stopped getting back … we’re kind of just turning for the rebound, and they were getting extra shots.”
But instead of the Dream (2-2) writing the same narrative — competing to win in the final possessions of a game — the team turned over a new leaf by ratcheting up its defensive pressure as well as connecting on timely points from Allisha Gray, using a five-point swing from its bench plus free throws in the second half of fourth quarter to seal the victory.
For Smesko, who led the Dream to their second victory of the season, he considers it a sign of team growth.
“We’ve been learning,” Smesko said prior to Saturday’s win. “I feel like we’re getting better, despite having very limited practice time.”
Time has been limited for the Dream to dissect a lot of their flaws and mistakes due to their schedule, one that included three home games including two back-to-back contests this week. With a win and a loss so far, the Dream will seek to win the final game in the trio of contests when they face the Connecticut Sun (0-3) at 3 p.m. ET at Gateway Center Arena.
Here’s what we learned from the Dream’s win against the Wings and what the team must consider in its contest on Sunday against the Sun.
Two bigs in lineup prevails
Brittney Griner bounced back in her performance on Saturday, finishing two rebounds shy of a double-double with 15 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal. Of the 18, five of her points came in the Dream’s massive third quarter run to create separation from the Wings.
Meanwhile, Brionna Jones tallied her fourth consecutive double-double, grabbing a career-high15 rebounds to go along with 11 points, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot. She set a new Dream record for the most double-doubles to begin a season. When both take the court at the same time, they have a higher net rating than when one player is on the court or if neither of them are on the court.
“I think they’ve been really good together,” Smesko said. “I think we’ve been good when we’ve kind of rotated one big. We’re still experimenting with some of these lineups to see how it looks against different configurations from the other team. So far, I think it’s been pretty successful.”
Gray delivers all-around performance
Allisha Gray entered Saturday’s game after picking up five fouls and going 4-of-13 from the floor for 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in the Dream’s loss on Thursday to the Fever. Against the Wings, her former team, she erupted for 27 points, tying her career-high while registering five rebounds, three blocks and surpassing 600 career assists after notching six in the contest.
The most impactful stretch in the two-time All-Star’s production came in the fourth quarter when she led the Dream with seven of her 27 points and two of her three blocks in the fourth quarter.
“I thought she (Gray) played great,” Smesko said. “She was kind of disappointed with how she played in the last game. Her defense was excellent. She was looking for a shot. Right from the beginning, she was ready to go.”
Gray’s six assists were part of a Dream team that distributed 23 on 29 made field goals while shooting 42.6% from the floor.
Dream dial defensive intensity
Arike Ogunbowale is one of the WNBA’s most lethal scorers. She has the ability to get hot from the floor at any moment. Paige Bueckers, known for playmaking ability and scoring, has shown glimpses of the brilliance she can deliver through a small sample of games in her WNBA career. But on Saturday, the Dream held the Wings’ all-time leading scorer and the rookie sensation to 16 points, 10 assists and three steals.
Smith led the Wings in points (13) while three players from Dallas’ bench — Maddy Siegrist, Teaira McCowan and Tyasha Harris — registered double figures in points. As a team, the Wings shot 36.6% (30-of-82) from the floor including 21.7% (5-of-23) from beyond the arc.
Bench delivers key spark
The Dream’s bench combined for 22 points in the two games against Indiana. On Saturday, the unit dropped 21 points. Nia Coffey finished with eight points, two rebounds and two blocked shots while Maya Caldwell tallied nine points, two assists and one steal in the victory.
“I think in every game, she’s (Coffey) given us a positive burst,” Smesko said.
The greatest impact from the duo came in the second half. The two combined for nine points in the third quarter and Caldwell, along with Gray, combined for five points within a minute near the 2:30 mark to give the Dream a 10-point lead.
Caldwell, who has been in and out of the league on various contracts, credited her grit and resilience to always be prepared when her number is called.
“I try to stay ready, stay in the gym, stay sharp,” Caldwell said.
What to make of the Connecticut Sun
The Sun have not won a game this season. However, Connecticut nearly pulled off a win against the Minnesota Lynx on Friday — leading by as many as 15 points — before Napheesa Collier wheeled the team to a comeback in the contest.
Connecticut looks drastically different from the franchise in recent years. With a new coach general manager in Morgan Tuck, a new coach in Rachid Meziane and a roster with several new faces that include former eight-time All-Star Tina Charles -- former Dream player -- Lindsay Allen, Jacy Sheldon and rookies Saniya Rivers and Aneesah Morrow. Their key returners include Marina Mabrey and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
As a team, the Sun sit 11th in the league in points per game (72.3), 10th in points allowed (84.3) as well as near the bottom in offensive and defensive rating. However, Connecticut ranks fifth in offensive rebounds per game (9.3) as well scoring in the restricted area, mainly behind the play of Charles and Nelson-Ododa.
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