In a WNBA showdown, the Dallas Wings, where Chinese center Li Yueru plays, challenged the Golden State Warriors at their home court. These two teams are like brothers in the Western Conference — the home team ranks third from bottom with a record of 10 wins and 12 losses, while the Wings sit at the bottom with 7 wins and 17 losses. Notably, in their only encounter this season, the Wings defeated their opponents, a victory akin to a ray of light in the darkness, adding some hope to their journey. Pau Gasol was in attendance.
Starting lineup for the Wings: Paige, Quinley, Ogumbowale, Gaisel Sode, and Li Yueru.
First quarter, Li Yueru showed strong defense and then grabbed a defensive rebound. Fawbenla failed twice to score against Li Yueru. However, Hayes hit consecutive three-pointers, while Li Yueru missed her three-point attempt, and the visiting team went scoreless for three minutes. Ogumbowale scored 21 points to open the game for the team, and then Li Yueru was substituted for rest. James scored consecutively, leading a 13-2 offensive wave to overturn the score. Quinley hit a three-pointer, and by the end of the first quarter, the Wings led 21-10, establishing a significant advantage.
In the second quarter, Li Yueru rested on the sidelines as Fawbenla continued to score under the basket, and substitute center Jones committed a three-point foul. The home team started with a 9-0 lead, and the visiting team went scoreless for over four minutes. Li Yueru returned to the court, and Ogumbowale hit consecutive three-pointers to stop the bleeding; her form quickly improved. Paige finally scored with a mid-range shot, marking her first points. Li Yueru defended against an opponent and was fouled, leading to a 2 1 play, with Paige hitting a three-pointer. Li Yueru was substituted again with just over two minutes remaining. At halftime, the Wings led 36-30. Li Yueru played 7 minutes and grabbed 2 rebounds, while Quinley struggled with 1 out of 6 shots and committed 3 turnovers.
After halftime, Li Yueru started the third quarter with a 6-0 run. The home team hit a three-pointer, and Li Yueru attempted another three-pointer, finally hitting it for her first points. She narrowly missed another three-pointer attempt. The Wings employed a twin tower tactic with Jones and Li Yueru on the court simultaneously, allowing the opponents to hit two three-pointers. Li Yueru finally had an offensive opportunity under the basket, drawing a foul. However, the opponents continued to hit three-pointers, and the twin tower tactic did not succeed. With just over three minutes left, Li Yueru was substituted again. The home team tied the score with another three-pointer. Jones scored a crucial 2 1, roaring with a shout, to suppress the Valkyries. The suppressed Valkyries used free throws to first overtake the score. At the end of the third quarter, the Wings trailed by 3 points.
In the final quarter, Paige hit a mid-range shot, Ogumbowale broke through and drew a shooting foul, and Gaisel Sode hit a crucial three-pointer. Paige scored again under the basket to tie the score. Quinley missed two crucial free throws, Fawbenla scored consecutively, but Li Yueru was not given a chance to play in the final quarter. Paige scored a crucial 2 1, and the opponent committed a fierce foul, knocking Carlington to the ground. However, the result gave Carlington a rebounding foul, which was really unfair. The referee stole the show with frequent whistles. In the end, the Wings lost the game 76-86.
Ogumbowale scored 16 points with 3 assists, Gaisel Sode had 9 points and 9 rebounds, Paige contributed 17 points, 6 assists, and 4 steals, but had the lowest plus-minus value of -14, Quinley had 3 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 turnovers, substitute center Jones scored 10 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and James had 13 points and 3 rebounds. Carlington had 4 points and 4 rebounds. Li Yueru only played 13 minutes in this game, was tragically unused in the final quarter, made 4 out of 1 shots and all of the'field Is head
