2021 Dallas Wings season

2021 Dallas Wings season
CoachVickie Johnson
ArenaCollege Park Center
Attendance2,101 per game
Results
Record14–18 (.438)
Place5th (Western)
Playoff finish7th seed, Lost in First Round to Chicago Sky
Team Leaders
PointsArike Ogunbowale – 18.7 ppg
ReboundsIsabelle Harrison &
Satou Sabally – 5.9 rpg
AssistsArike Ogunbowale – 3.3 ppg

The 2021 Dallas Wings season was the franchise's 24th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the 6th season for the franchise in Dallas. This was the first season under new head coach Vickie Johnson, after she was hired on December 9, 2020.[1]

The Wings had the #1 and #2 picks in the 2021 WNBA draft. They selected Charli Collier and Awak Kuier, while also adding top talents in Chelsea Dungee and Dana Evans.

The Wings won their first game of the season, but couldn't keep the momentum going as they lost their next four games in a row, to finish May with a 1–4 record. The team improved during the month of June, posting a 7–5 overall record including wins at Seattle and a two-game sweep of Phoenix. The team faltered in July going 1–3 including three straight losses heading into the Olympic break. At the Olympic break their record was 9–12. After the break, they alternated loss and wins to post a 2–3 record in August. They finished out the regular season 3–3 in September, and secured a playoff berth after a win on September 11 vs. the New York Liberty. Their overall record of 14–18 earned the seventh seed in the 2021 WNBA Playoffs.

In the first round of the playoffs, they faced off against the Chicago Sky. The Sky dominated the game from the outset and the Wings outscored the Sky in only one quarter of the game. The Wings lost 64–81 to end their season.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2021 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player School/Team/Country Nationality
1 1 Charli Collier Texas  United States
1 2 Awak Kuier Passalacqua Ragusa (Italy)  Finland
1 5 Chelsea Dungee Arkansas  United States
2 13 Dana Evans Louisville  United States

Trades and Roster changes

Date Details
November 5, 2020 Exercised Team Option on G Arike Ogunbowale[2]
November 10, 2020 Exercised Team Options on G Marina Mabrey and F Katie Lou Samuelson[3]
February 1, 2021 Signed G Allisha Gray[4]
February 8, 2021 Signed Kayla Thornton to a Contract Extension[5]
February 10, 2021 Traded Katie Lou Samuelson and a 2nd Round Pick in 2022 to the Seattle Storm in exchange for the 1st Pick in the 2021 WNBA draft[6]
February 25, 2021 Waived F Astou Ndour[7]
March 12, 2021 Signed F Luisa Geiselsoder to a Rookie Scale Contract[8]
March 31, 2021 Full Season Suspended F Luisa Geiselsoder due to Overseas Injury[9]
April 14, 2021 Traded the 7th Pick in the 2021 Draft and a 2nd Round Pick in the 2022 Draft to the Los Angeles Sparks for a 1st Round Pick in the 2022 Draft[10]
April 16, 2021 Signed G Dana Evans and G Chelsea Dungee to Rookie Scale Contracts[11]
April 18, 2021 Signed F Awak Kuier to a Rookie Scale Contract[12]
Signed G Dee Givens, G Destinee Walker, and F Tori Jarosz to Training Camp Contracts[13]
April 19, 2021 Signed F Amy Okonkwo to a Training Camp Contract[14]
April 30, 2021 Waived F Amy Okonkwo and F Tori Jarosz[15]
May 9, 2021 Waived G Dee Givens[16]
May 10, 2021 Waived G Destinee Walker[17]
Temporarily Suspend F Satou Sabally due to Overseas Commitments[18]
May 12, 2021 Waived F Megan Gustafson[19]
May 14, 2021 Temporarily Suspend F Awak Kuier due to Overseas Commitments[20]
May 15, 2021 Signed F Kristine Anigwe off of Waivers[21]
May 18, 2021 Temporarily Suspend G Allisha Gray due to Overseas Commitments[22]
May 27, 2021 Activated F Awak Kuier from the Temporary Suspension List[23]
June 2, 2021 Traded G Dana Evans to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's own 2022 3rd Round Draft pick, the right to swap 2022 1st Round draft picks, and G Shyla Heal.[24]
Waived G Shyla Heal
Activated G Allisha Gray and F Satou Sabally from the Temporary Suspension List[25]
Waived F Kristine Anigwe[26]

Roster

2021 Dallas Wings roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
F/C 32 United States Alarie, Bella 6' 4" (1.93m) 190 lb (86kg) 1998-04-23 Princeton 1
G 33 United States Dungee, Chelsea 5' 10" (1.78m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-05-11 Arkansas R
G 15 United States Gray, Allisha 6' 0" (1.83m) 167 lb (76kg) 1995-01-12 South Carolina 4
G 52 United States Harris, Tyasha 5' 10" (1.78m) 152 lb (69kg) 1998-05-01 South Carolina 1
F 20 United States Harrison, Isabelle 6' 3" (1.91m) 183 lb (83kg) 1993-09-27 Tennessee 4
G 4 United States Jefferson, Moriah 5' 6" (1.68m) 123 lb (56kg) 1994-03-08 Connecticut 4
F/C 28 Finland Kuier, Awak 6' 4" (1.93m) 168 lb (76kg) 2001-08-19 Finland R
G 3 United States Mabrey, Marina 5' 11" (1.8m) 170 lb (77kg) 1996-09-14 Notre Dame 2
G 24 United States Ogunbowale, Arike 5' 8" (1.73m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-03-02 Notre Dame 2
F 0 Germany Sabally, Satou 6' 4" (1.93m) – 1998-04-25 Oregon 1
C 35 United States Collier, Charli 6' 5" (1.96m) 188 lb (85kg) 1999-09-22 Texas R
F 6 United States Thornton, Kayla 6' 1" (1.85m) 188 lb (85kg) 1992-10-20 UTEP 5
Head coach
United States Vickie Johnson (Louisiana Tech)
Assistant coaches
United States Le'coe Willingham (Auburn)
United States Kelly Schumacher (Connecticut)
United States Tim Gittens (Milwaukee)
Athletic trainer
United States Branay Hicks (University of Texas at Tyler)


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Game Log

Preseason

2021 pre-season game log
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 8 Connecticut L 76–89 Allisha Gray (19) Charli Collier (10) Moriah Jefferson (4) College Park Center
 0–1
2 May 11 @ New York Scrimmage Barclays Center
 0–0
2021 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2021 game log
Total: 14–18 (Home: 7–9; Road: 7–9)
May: 1–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 14 @ Los Angeles W 94–71 Allisha Gray (23) Kayla Thornton (11) Tyasha Harris (7) Los Angeles Convention Center
No Fans 		1–0
2 May 22 Seattle 97–100 (OT) Arike Ogunbowale (28) Kayla Thornton (12) Arike Ogunbowale (6) College Park Center
1,491 		1–1
3 May 24 @ New York L 81–88 Arike Ogunbowale (24) Kayla Thornton (11) Tyasha Harris (7) Barclays Center
894 		1–2
4 May 27 @ Atlanta L 95–101 Mabrey
Ogunbowale (24) 		Isabelle Harrison (9) Moriah Jefferson (4) Gateway Center Arena
711 		1–3
5 May 29 Phoenix L 85–89 Mabrey
Ogunbowale (24) 		Marina Mabrey (8) Isabelle Harrison (3) College Park Center
1,717 		1–4
June : 7–5 (Home: 3–2; Road: 4–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
6 June 1 Los Angeles W 69–79 Tyasha Harris (18) Collier
Mabrey
Thornton (7) 		Jefferson
Mabrey (6) 		College Park Center
1,372 		2–4
7 June 4 @ Seattle L 102–105 (OT) Marina Mabrey (24) Satou Sabally (9) Arike Ogunbowale (8) Angel of the Winds Arena
1,467 		2–5
8 June 6 @ Seattle W 68–67 Arike Ogunbowale (24) Isabelle Harrison (8) Arike Ogunbowale (3) Angel of the Winds Arena
1,930 		3–5
9 June 9 @ Phoenix W 85–81 Arike Ogunbowale (22) Isabelle Harrison (9) Tyasha Harris (7) Phoenix Suns Arena
3,618 		4–5
10 June 11 @ Phoenix W 77–59 Arike Ogunbowale (20) Bella Alarie (9) Harris
Sabally (4) 		Phoenix Suns Arena
4,261 		5–5
11 June 13 @ Las Vegas L 78–85 Satou Sabally (24) Isabelle Harrison (9) Arike Ogunbowale (8) Michelob Ultra Arena
No Fans 		5–6
12 June 17 Minnesota L 73–85 Arike Ogunbowale (20) Bella Alarie (6) Moriah Jefferson (4) College Park Center
1,519 		5–7
13 June 19 Minnesota W 95–77 Marina Mabrey (28) Bella Alarie (8) Arike Ogunbowale (6) College Park Center
1,751 		6–7
14 June 22 @ Connecticut L 70–80 Arike Ogunbowale (18) Marina Mabrey (5) Arike Ogunbowale (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
2,076 		6–8
15 June 24 @ Indiana W 89–64 Satou Sabally (15) Satou Sabally (9) Arike Ogunbowale (5) Indiana Farmers Coliseum
No Fans 		7–8
16 June 26 Washington W 85–74 Arike Ogunbowale (30) Sabally
Thornton (8) 		Satou Sabally (5) College Park Center
2,055 		8–8
17 June 30 Chicago L 81–91 Isabelle Harrison (23) Isabelle Harrison (8) Mabrey
Ogunbowale (4) 		College Park Center
1,778 		8–9
July : 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
18 July 2 Chicago W 100–91 Marina Mabrey (28) Satou Sabally (9) Satou Sabally (6) College Park Center
2,187 		9–9
19 July 5 @ New York L 96–99 Isabelle Harrison (23) Harrison
Mabrey
Sabally (7) 		Moriah Jefferson (6) Barclays Center
1,677 		9–10
20 July 7 @ Minnesota L 79–85 Allisha Gray (13) Satou Sabally (6) Satou Sabally (7) Target Center
2,321 		9–11
21 July 11 Las Vegas L 79–95 Gray
Jefferson (14) 		Satou Sabally (9) Harris
Harrison
Ogunbowale
Sabally (3) 		College Park Center
2,533 		9–12
August : 2–3 (Home: 0–2; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
22 August 15 Connecticut L 59–80 Arike Ogunbowale (20) Isabelle Harrison (5) Arike Ogunbowale (5) College Park Center
2,399 		9–13
23 August 17 @ Chicago W 80–76 Allisha Gray (20) Kayla Thornton (10) Moriah Jefferson (8) Wintrust Arena
3,902 		10–13
24 August 20 Indiana L 81–83 Isabelle Harrison (22) Isabelle Harrison (7) Arike Ogunbowale (6) College Park Center
2,017 		10–14
25 August 26 @ Washington W 82–77 Arike Ogunbowale (26) Isabelle Harrison (10) Arike Ogunbowale (9) Entertainment and Sports Arena
2,465 		11–14
26 August 28 @ Washington Mystics L 75–76 Arike Ogunbowale (25) Isabelle Harrison (9) Marina Mabrey (5) Entertainment and Sports Arena
2,410 		11–15
September : 3–3 (Home: 3–2; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
27 September 2 Atlanta W 72–68 Allisha Gray (19) Gray
Harrison (10) 		Moriah Jefferson (6) College Park Center
1,975 		12–15
28 September 5 Atlanta L 64–69 Arike Ogunbowale (21) Allisha Gray (14) Tyasha Harris (6) College Park Center
2,386 		12–16
29 September 7 Connecticut L 56–83 Marina Mabrey (16) Awak Kuier (8) Alarie
Harris
Kuier
Ogunbowale (2) 		College Park Center
1,945 		12–17
30 September 11 New York W 77–76 Marina Mabrey (21) Allisha Gray (11) Marina Mabrey (6) College Park Center
2,888 		13–17
31 September 13 @ Las Vegas L 75–85 Arike Ogunbowale (23) Collier
Ogunbowale (8) 		Marina Mabrey (7) Michelob Ultra Arena
N/A 		13–18
32 September 19 Los Angeles W 87–84 Arike Ogunbowale (20) Allisha Gray (7) Marina Mabrey (5) College Park Center
3,604 		14–18
2021 season schedule

Playoffs

2021 playoff game log
Total: 0–1
First round
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 23 @ Chicago 64–81 Arike Ogunbowale (22) Isabelle Harrison (10) Moriah Jefferson (4) Wintrust Arena
4,672 		0–1
2021 playoff schedule

Standings

# Team W L PCT GB Conf. Home Road Cup
1 x – Connecticut Sun 26 6 .813 – 12–3 15–1 11–5 9–1
2 x – Las Vegas Aces 24 8 .750 2 11–4 13–3 11–5 6–4
3 x – Minnesota Lynx 22 10 .688 4 10–5 13–3 9–7 7–3
4 x – Seattle Storm 21 11 .656 5 9–6 11–5 10–6 8–2
5 x – Phoenix Mercury 19 13 .594 7 6–9 7–9 12–4 5–5
6 x – Chicago Sky 16 16 .500 10 10–5 6–10 10–6 6–4
7 x – Dallas Wings 14 18 .438 12 7–8 7–9 7–9 3–7
8 x – New York Liberty 12 20 .375 14 6–9 7–9 5–11 5–5
9 e – Washington Mystics 12 20 .375 14 7–8 8–8 4–12 4–6
10 e – Los Angeles Sparks 12 20 .375 14 2–13 8–8 4–12 1–9
11 e – Atlanta Dream 8 24 .250 18 6–9 4–12 4–12 4–6
12 e – Indiana Fever 6 26 .188 20 4–11 4–12 2–14 2–8

Notes

(#) – League Standing
x – Clinched playoff berth
e – Eliminated from playoff contention
Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings


Playoffs

First round
Single elimination
Sept. 23		Second round
Single elimination
Sept. 26		Semifinals
Best-of-five
Sept. 28 – Oct. 8		WNBA Finals
Best-of-five
Oct. 10 – Oct. 17
2Las Vegas Aces9691609384
4Seattle Storm805Phoenix Mercury90117877687
5Phoenix Mercury835Phoenix Mercury85OT5Phoenix Mercury7791OT5074–
8New York Liberty826Chicago Sky91868680–
1Connecticut Sun95798369–
3Minnesota Lynx766Chicago Sky1012OT688679–
6Chicago Sky816Chicago Sky89
7Dallas Wings64

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular Season

Source:[27]

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Arike Ogunbowale 32 32 31.3 38.3 37.6 86.4 3.2 3.3 1.2 0.0 18.7
Marina Mabrey 32 8 24.2 40.5 34.2 88.2 3.9 2.9 1.0 0.3 13.3
Allisha Gray 25 16 2.8 43.8 36.6 86.2 5.2 1.7 1.0 0.8 11.9
Satou Sabally 17 14 24.9 41.8 32.7 77.0 5.9 2.8 0.2 0.8 11.9
Isabelle Harrison 28 5 23.8 53.8 0.0 78.3 5.9 1.1 1.1 0.7 10.9
Kayla Thornton 31 25 27.6 42.1 34.9 84.9 5.6 1.5 0.8 0.2 7.5
Moriah Jefferson 29 28 17.2 44.9 46.0 60.0 2.0 2.5 0.8 0.2 5.4
Tyasha Harris 32 3 16.3 33.6 33.9 83.3 1.6 2.7 0.4 0.3 4.4
Charli Collier 28 18 12.3 46.5 0.0 69.6 3.6 0.2 0.1 0.2 3.4
Bella Alarie 31 11 13.1 50.0 0.0 85.0 3.3 0.5 0.6 0.6 2.6
Awak Kuier 16 0 8.9 30.8 16.7 78.6 2.4 0.6 0.3 0.8 2.4
Chelsea Dungee 14 0 4.6 17.6 20.0 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.6

Awards and honors

Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Arike Ogunbowale WNBA All-Star Selection June 30 [28]
Satou Sabally
Charli Collier WNBA All-Rookie Team October 5 [29]
Arike Ogunbowale All-WNBA Second Team October 15 [30]

References

  1. ^ "Vickie Johnson hired as new Dallas Wings coach". usatoday.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  2. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Allisha Gray Signs Multi-Year Contract with Wings". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "Kayla Thornton Signs Multi-Year Extension with Wings". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  6. ^ "Wings Acquire 2021 Number One Overall Pick". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "Dallas Wings Waive Astou Ndour". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. February 25, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  8. ^ "Dallas Wings Sign Luisa Geiselsöder to Training Camp Contract". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  9. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. March 31, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "Los Angeles Sparks acquire No. 7 overall pick in WNBA draft from Dallas Wings". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  11. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. April 16, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  12. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. April 18, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. April 18, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. April 19, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  15. ^ "The Dallas Wings Waive Tori Jarosz and Amy Okonkwo". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. April 30, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  16. ^ "itsBTerrell Tweet". Twitter.com. Twitter. May 9, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Destinee Walker, Mik Vaughn Waived by Wings, Lynx". ndnation.com. ND Nation. May 10, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  18. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. May 10, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  19. ^ "Dallas Wings waive center Megan Gustafson". dallasnews.com. Dallas News. May 12, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  20. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. May 14, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  21. ^ "The Dallas Wings Acquire Kristine Anigwe". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. May 15, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  22. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. May 18, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  23. ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. May 27, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  24. ^ "Wings Trade Dana Evans to Chicago Sky". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  25. ^ "Transactions – Player Movement". acrossthetimeline.com. Across The Timeline. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  26. ^ "Wings Waive Anigwe". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  27. ^ "Stats - Dallas Wings". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  28. ^ "Rosters Set for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2021 on July 14". wnba.com. WNBA. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  29. ^ "Sky Guard Dana Evans Named to 2021 WNBA All-Rookie Team". sky.wnba.com. WNBA. October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  30. ^ "The 2021 All-WNBA First & Second Team Announced". wnba.com. WNBA. October 15, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.