The Wings completely dismantled the Liberty tonight, and some might say they were cruel in their execution. They smothered the defending champs and rained down shots almost at will. The home team shot 59% in the first half, leading to a larger than 20-point deficit for the defending champs at the break (63-36).
It gave fans a glimpse into what they were hoping to see at the start of the season after the Dallas drafted Paige Bueckers number one overall. Arike Ogunbowale was getting buckets for this team before the star out of UConn arrived.
Naturally, Wings Nation believed that pairing the two would lead to explosive scoring nights, but it wasn't clicking in the beginning. Ogunbowale got off to a slow start, the defense wasn't playing well, and a rush of injuries left them battling adversity all year. But tonight was different. Don't let the final score fool you. This game was not close.
Arike and Paige can be one of the elite duos in the WNBA
Ogunbowale and Bueckers are the leaders on this team for more than just their stature and maturity. They're the best of the best when it comes to putting the ball in the basket. Both players finished the game with 20 points on efficient shooting. Paige went 7-12, while Arike was 7-15. But as important as those buckets were, they had to get their teammates involved, and they did that in a major way.
Arike stole the show in that regard, reaching a career high with 14 assists. Paige added four more. The defense from the team was outstanding, and though it got dicey for a split second in the fourth quarter, the game was never really in jeopardy.
When teams go down by nearly 30 points, it takes just about all of their energy to get the game back to a respectable deficit. The Liberty accomplished that, only losing by 10 points. But this was a dominant performance by the Wings. It was the offense early, and the defense finished the deal.
They haven't been able to lean on their defense much this season. It's been inconsistent at best, but occasionally they have good stretches. The Wings had one tonight. After the game, Paige assessed their defensive growth from the beginning of the season to now.
"I think it's still continuing to grow. We felt like we haven't done a great job the last couple of games... Dictating more, disrupting more. That's the emphasis going forward." - Paige Bueckers
They did just that, holding Sabrina Ionescu to just one point in the first half. The Liberty's star guard got it going in the second half, as most great players find a way to make an impact, but the game was out of reach by then.
Credit to Coach Chris Koclanes for pulling the right strings tonight. Haley Jones made her first start of the season, and Luisa Geiselsoder moved to the center position. Geiselsoder added 14 points on 6-9 from the field, and the entire team showed up for this one. It was a nationally televised game, so ESPN probably didn't get the game they wanted, but Wings fans don't care about that.
This team has been through a ton of adversity this season and lost their fair share of blowouts. It was time they got one to go their way.