Dallas guard Arike Ogunbowale scored 22 points, lifting the Wings to a 96-66 victory over the Aces on Monday night at College Park Center and ending Las Vegas’ six-game winning streak.
The Aces fell to 7-2 on the road, suffering both defeats to the Wings.
Las Vegas will need to win at the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday to secure a berth in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game against the New York Liberty on June 30.
The Wings had five players with more than 10 points while shooting 36% on 3-pointers, including five from Ogunbowale.
“We did not defend anywhere tonight,” said Aces coach Becky Hammon. “In the paint, pick and roll, at the three-point line, mid-range, pretty much everywhere.”
It was a slow start for the Aces, who struggled to score through the first quarter, trailing 29-20 after the first quarter.
The momentum for the Wings carried into the second quarter, when they opened a 21-2 run that included 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions. They led by as much as 56-28.
“When you give really good teams open looks, they’re going to run 30 points up on you,” said Aces guard A’ja Wilson. “We have to really tune into the defensive end and play our way out of it.
“If we do not get better on the defensive end, the losses are going to start racking up point-blank.”
This is the first loss of the Commissioner’s Cup schedule for the Aces (5-1), with one game remaining in the competition’s slate.
Jewell Lloyd led the Aces with 21 points and two rebounds while shooting 57% from the field. She made five 3-pointers. Chelsea Gray was held scoreless following a historic two-game stretch in which she made 15 3-pointers and scored 52 points.
This is the second time this season that the Aces have been held under 70 points, and the first time since their season opener against the Mercury, where they also had 66 points.
“When it comes to turning the page, you have to do it, but you really have to do it on the defensive end,” Wilson said. “I hate that wins give you a false reality that we are doing things well when we are not.
“I give myself 24 hours in either a win or a loss to digest and figure out what I need to do better.”
Wilson was the only other member of the Aces to score in the double figures (18 points and five rebounds).
Following their defeat and a Minnesota win, the Lynx have reclaimed first place in the overall league standings while the Aces have fallen to second place in the Western Conference.
