Dallas Wings vs. New York Liberty Prediction, Preview and Odds - 5/24/21
It’s an interconference matchup on the hardwood in WNBA action up in the Big Apple. The Dallas Wings are on the road as they make the trip to face the New York Liberty Monday night. Dallas comes in off a 100-97 overtime loss at home to Seattle in their previous contest Saturday night. New York was on the road against Chicago Sunday afternoon and came away with a 93-85 victory. Last season, the Wings took both meetings, including an 82-79 victory as the road team in the bubble in the most recent matchup on September 13, 2020. That means Dallas has won four straight matchups and six of the previous seven entering this contest.
Dallas Wings Look to Bounce Back From OT Defeat
Dallas played their first game in over a week since their season-opening road win over Los Angeles and ended up falling short in overtime against the defending champion Storm. The Wings now hope that they can take advantage of a Liberty team playing the second game of a back-to-back here. In Saturday’s game, Dallas trailed by four after the opening quarter, led by one at the half and trailed by five after three quarters. The Wings were down nine with under six minutes to play in regulation before rallying to force overtime. In the extra session, the teams traded the lead multiple times with the Wings holding a 97-96 edge with 50.9 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, Dallas went scoreless the rest of the way and gave up the final four points to take the loss. Dallas shot 45.1% from the field, including 10 of 31 from three-point range, and won the rebounding battle 46-39 though they were hurt by 16 turnovers. Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the loss.
The Wings come into this one first in the league in scoring with 95.5 points per game this season. Dallas is first in rebounding (45.5 boards per contest) but rank fourth in the league in assists with 20 per game. The Wings are struggling defensively, ranking 10th by allowing 85.5 points per contest. Allisha Gray leads the team by averaging 23 points, six rebounds and five assists on the year. Arike Ogunbowale (22.5 points, four rebounds, 3.5 assists), Marina Mabrey (18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists), Isabelle Harrison (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Kayla Thornton (10.5 points, 11.5 rebounds) are all capable scoring options as well. Charli Collier, Tyasha Harris, Chelsea Dungee, Moriah Jefferson, Dana Evans, Kristine Anigwe and Bella Alarie all can be looked to for minutes for coach Brian Agler. The Wings are second in the league in field goal percentage as they hit 48.6% as a team. Dallas is fourth in three pointers per game (nine) and stand third in the league in three-point shooting as they hit 37.5% from long range. The Wings are fourth in free throw shooting as they convert 81.6% of their chances at the stripe.
New York Liberty Trying to Sweep Back-to-Back Set
New York bounced back from their first loss of the season as they earned a road win over Chicago Sunday afternoon. The Liberty improved to 4-1 on the season and look to earn a second straight win to close a back-to-back set. In Sunday’s game, New York trailed by three after the opening quarter and stood even at the half. The Liberty used a 6-0 run to end the third quarter to take a four-point lead after three quarters and then had an 8-2 run in the fourth quarter to take an 86-78 edge with 3:44 to play. New York didn’t let Chicago closer than five the rest of the way. The Liberty shot 49.3% from the field, including 14 of 28 three-point attempts, and held a 40-35 edge on the glass. Betnijah Laney led New York with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win.
The Liberty comes into this contest 5th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 82.8 points per game. New York is ninth in rebounding (34.8 boards a night) and tied for third with 20.8 assists per contest. The Liberty ranks seventh in the league in scoring defense by allowing 82.6 points per game. Betnijah Laney leads the Liberty with 22 points plus 4.2 assists a night this season. Sabrina Ionescu (18.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists) and Michaela Onyenwere (10.2 points, 3.4 boards) are also averaging in double figures. Sami Whitcomb, Natasha Howard, Kylee Shook, Rebecca Allen, Jazmine Jones, Reshanda Gray and DiDi Richards are key contributors for coach Walt Hopkins. New York is 5th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 44.9% from the floor as a team. The Liberty is leading the league in made threes per game (11.8) while ranking first in three-point shooting at 44.4%. New York is 3rd in free throw percentage as they cash in 82.1% of their chances at the stripe.
Pick: Dallas Wings
This one is a tough one to call as the Wings have played only two games so far this season while the Liberty has played five times already. As it stands, this contest was slated to be played on Tuesday but was moved as the Nets have Game 2 of their first-round series with the Celtics at the Barclays Center. That moved things to Monday and puts the Liberty in the unfortunate situation of playing the second game of a back-to-back situation. Being a bit fatigued could prove to be detrimental as they face a Dallas team that has no problem pushing the tempo and running opposing teams into the ground. The Wings have the extra day of rest and they have the ability to run and gun while pounding the glass. That’s enough to give Dallas the upper hand here.
Total: Over
New York has seen the over hit in four of their five games this season while coming in as the underdog in each of those contests. We saw the Liberty combine for 178 points in their game against the Sky, which entered the contest with the league’s top scoring defense. Dallas is an offensive force though they have issues on the defensive end of the floor this season. The Wings saw their opener with the Sparks fall half a point short of the total though they won comfortably in that contest. Dallas then obliterated the total in their game Saturday with Seattle as the teams combined for 197 points to blow past the mark by 27 points. This one has the ability for both teams to push the pace and pile up the points, helping it end up over the mark.
