A second-half rally wasn’t enough for the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night as they lost ground in the WNBA playoff race after a 92-87 loss to the Dallas Wings.
Dallas was led by Arike Ogunbowale, who scored a game-high 31 points and helped set the tone for a dominant first half. With the Lynx struggling to generate offense, the Wings took a 48-27 lead into halftime before Minnesota came out blazing in the second half.
Sylvia Fowles was extraordinary for the Lynx, putting up 20 points and 17 rebounds on the night and Rachel Banham added a spark from the bench with 24 points.
A 3-pointer from Banham with 23.2 seconds to go helped the Lynx cut the lead down to 85-82 but a pair of free throws from Alisha Gray and Ogunbowale helped Dallas seal the victory.
The loss drops the Lynx 2.5 games behind the Wings for the WNBA’s eighth and final playoff spot. Minnesota will look to make up for the lost opportunity on Friday night when they travel to face the Indiana Fever.
