Tina Charles and Kia Nurse combined for 42 points, but more turnovers doomed the New York Liberty to a seventh straight loss.
Can't ? stop ? @OMG_itsizzyb ? pic.twitter.com/mGtf2RqrgG
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) August 17, 2019
Have a night, @Graytness_15! ?
– Career-high 22 PTS
– Surpassed 1,000 career points pic.twitter.com/vp4imxqc74— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) August 17, 2019
Giants-Cowboys is still a few weeks away, but there was still an athletic thriller between New York and Dallas on Friday night. Alas for the former, Dallas kept recent trends going and triumphed once again, this time on the hardwood instead of the gridiron.
Isabelle Harrison put in a game-winner with 40 seconds left, ensuring that a career-best scoring outing from Allisha Gray wouldn’t go to waste. The latter led the local Wings with 22 points as they earned an 83-77 win at College Park Center in Arlington. Dallas has now won three in a row for the first time this season.
The New York Liberty (8-17) put in a solid team effort, one that lacked both Asia Durr (groin strain) and Amanda Zahui B. (concussion) for the third straight game. Particularly inspiring was the play of Kia Nurse. The first-time All-Star had struggled since her return from Las Vegas, but got off to a strong start with 10 points in the first quarter alone. She would earn 17 points (4-of-9 FG), 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.
? Kia TOUGH #LibertyLoud @KayNurse11
? @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/X7sMDsq6lb
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 17, 2019
Charles continued a strong post-break showing. With 25 points (10-of-25 FG), Charles has now scored at least 20 points in four of her past five games. She earned some special WNBA history with her performance. A basket in the second half allowed her to pass former Liberty great Becky Hammon for 11th all-time on the WNBA scoring list (5,855). Charles is two points away from the active Seimone Augustus of Minnesota for ninth. The Queens native also moved past Tina Thompson for fifth on the WNBA’s rebounding list.
? @tinacharles31 hits the floater to move into 11th on the all-time #WNBA scoring list #LibertyLoud pic.twitter.com/ue0J4KqD64
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 17, 2019
Turnovers once again played a role in tearing down New York momentum. They had 16 on the night, allowing Dallas to maintain a slim but consistent lead all night. A particularly troubling sequence came at the end of the third quarter.
The Liberty had cut the Dallas lead to 56-55 and had a chance to take the lead. A Harrison steal led to a fast break, and she restored the Wings’ lead back to three. A poor inbounds pass landed right in the hands of Kaela Davis, who drove for a blocking foul. The lead had inflated to 60-55 with five seconds of game time removed.
Steal ➡️ score ?@OMG_itsizzyb with the transition bucket #Together pic.twitter.com/XwbYigdEPe
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 17, 2019
Harrison would later go on to play the heroine after Tanisha Wright gave the Liberty a brief lead with two free throws. Dallas (9-17) also enjoyed a 21-point performance from rookie Arike Ogunbowale.
Wright made some history as well before her potential winners went for naught. She likewise entered a historic decalogue, passing Temeka Johnson for 10th all-time in assists (1,383). Bria Hartley was the last of three Liberty members to reach double-figures with 11. It marks the third straight game of at least 10 points for Hartley.
Dallas took two of the three-game season set with their victory.
The Liberty will move on Phoenix for the middle stanza of a three-game road trip on Sunday afternoon (6:00 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass). New York sat 3.5 games behind the Mercury for the final WNBA playoff spot after the Dallas loss. The Mercury hosted the Atlanta Dream on Friday night.
