Wings clinch playoff spot, Gray seals victory with block

Sep 12, 2021, 03:24 am

ARLINGTON, Texas -- — Marina Mabrey scored 21 points, Allisha Gray had 13 points, 11 rebounds and a game-sealing block, and the Dallas Wings beat the New York Liberty 77-76 on Saturday night to clinch a playoff spot.

Dallas (13-17) sits in seventh, while New York (11-19) trails the Washington Mystics by a half-game for the final playoff spot.

Mabrey and Kayla Thornton combined to score 16 of the Wings’ 21 fourth-quarter points.

Natasha Howard pulled New York within one with 29.4 seconds left and she grabbed a defensive rebound after Arike Ogunbowale missed at the other end. Sabrina Ionescu got Gray in the air on a pump fake, but Gray recovered to block the shot as time expired.

Ogunbowale and Thornton each scored 13 points for Dallas, which trailed by as many as 10 points.

Betnijah Laney scored 19 points and Howard had 16 points and 11 rebounds for New York. Ionescu had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

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