With his basket in transition, then an interception to score again in stride, Gabby Williams thought he had put his team in a safe place with a five-point lead four minutes from the end.
It was only until the final seconds that the fate of this match between the Seattle Storm and the Dallas Wings was sealed in favor of the team of the American-French player (83-81).
Facing a Texan team already out of the playoff race, the Seattle players had a very complicated start to the match. Trailing by 9 points after the first quarter, they were mostly relegated to 21 points in the second (23-44) against a Teaira McCowan in great shape (23 points and 15 rebounds).
The reaction was spectacular after the break: 34 points scored in the third quarter with a 28-2 run in six minutes to regain control in an authoritative manner (69-56).
Home advantage in sight
During this passage, Gabby Williams was omnipresent, in defense, to bring up the ball, distribute or finish by herself. The leader of the French team finished with 10 points (5/8 shooting), 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 interceptions in 32 minutes.
But with 30 seconds left, Arike Ogunbowale (15 points on 6/20 shooting in 40 minutes) found a way to tie the game with a 3-pointer. Her team's top scorer (21), Skylar Diggins-Smith gave her team the lead again with free throws. The same Ogunbowale tried her luck in response to the buzzer, but the ball didn't even touch the rim.
11th in the standings, the Wings (9 wins – 29 losses) are on the hook for a 7th straight defeat. With this 3rd straight win, the Storm (23-14) is holding on to the Las Vegas Aces (24-13) for 4th place in the standings, which means obtaining home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers attempted; LF = Free throws made / Free throws attempted; O = Offensive rebound; D = Defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose balls; Ct: Blocks; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the court; Pts = Points; Eval: Player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
