Dream spoil Ogunbowale's debut in beating Wings
Jessica Breland had 17 points and grabbed six rebounds, Renee Montgomery scored 15 points and the host Atlanta Dream rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final quarter to down the Dallas Wings 76-72 in the WNBA opener for both teams on Friday.
Brittney Sykes added 10 points for the Dream, who had the league's second-best record at 23-11 last season but lost in the semifinals to Washington in a best-of-five series, 3-2.
Allisha Gray led the Wings, who finished 15-19 last season, with 14 points. Former Notre Dame star Arike Ogunbowale, the team's top draft pick, added 12 points but shot 5-for-16 from the field.
Atlanta led 20-19 after the opening quarter behind seven points from Montgomery. Dallas began the second quarter with a 10-0 run. That included a 3-pointer by Gray and was capped by a layup from Imani McGee-Stafford.
A personal 6-0 run by Breland later in the quarter pulled the Dream within three. A Gray layup in the final minute of the half allowed Dallas to take a 39-34 halftime lead.
The Dream tied the game at 40-all on a Breland layup. The Wings then scored the next eight points, including two Brooke McCarty-Williams 3-pointers. Ogunbowale made a layup and a 3-pointer late in the quarter to give Dallas a 55-45 lead. The Wings led by eight entering the fourth.
Down 60-51, the Dream scored 10 unanswered points to take the lead. A three-point play from Monique Billings capped that outburst. Dallas regained the lead at 67-65 with 2:29 left on a McGee-Stafford layup.
The Dream moved back in front with 1:17 left on a Breland three-point play. Breland split free throws in the final minute for a 74-71 advantage. Ogunbowale missed two 3-pointers and a free throw from that point.
--Field Level Media
