Arike Ogunbowale comes up clutch, delivers Wings past Mercury

Arike Ogunbowale scored a game-high 29 points, including a critical three-point play with 19.9 seconds left, as the Dallas Wings overcame a 12-point first half deficit to stop the host Phoenix Mercury 77-74 on Sunday.

Moriah Jefferson drew the Mercury within a point on a pullup jumper with 56.9 seconds remaining but they failed to grab the rebound of a missed 3-pointer by Ogunbowale. Crystal Dangerfield snared it for Dallas (19-16) and after a 20-second timeout, Ogunbowale drove the lane for the game's biggest points.

Ogunbowale added two free throws with 7.2 seconds on the clock for a four-point lead. Phoenix gave itself a final chance when Michaela Onyenwere made one foul shot, intentionally missed the second and got her own rebound with 3.7 seconds left, but Sug Sutton missed a 3-pointer as time expired.

Kalani Brown added 12 points off the bench for the Wings, while Natasha Howard hit for 11. Dallas made just 36.1 percent from the field but earned a 20-6 advantage in points off turnovers.

Jefferson scored 20 points for the Mercury (9-25) and Brittney Griner added 19. Megan Gustafson came off the bench to net 11 points.

Playing without Satou Sabally (ankle) for a second straight game, Dallas was slow out of the gate. Phoenix hit it with a 10-4 run to close the first quarter, Griner drilling a long 2-point jumper for a 22-18 advantage.

The Mercury gradually expanded their lead in the second period until it reached 42-30 when Sutton canned a pullup jumper in the final minute. But the Wings climbed within seven at the half when Ogunbowale fed Brown for a short shot, then hit a 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds left.

Dallas used that momentum to make its move in the third quarter, tying the game at 46 on a three-point play by Teaira McCowan and then getting a floater by Howard with 10.7 seconds remaining for a 55-55 tie going to the fourth.