NEW YORK (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale scored 18 of her 21 points in the second half and the Dallas Wings beat the New York Liberty 81-71 on Sunday.

Dallas (2-1) had a two-point lead at halftime before Ogunbowale got going. She had nine points in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer that made it 62-52 with 1:55 left in the period.

New York (1-3) got within five in the fourth quarter but could get no closer thanks to Ogunbowale and Isabelle Harrison, who finished with 18 points.

Sabrina Ionescu had 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists to lead the Liberty. Natasha Howard scored 14 points after missing 14 of her 15 shot attempts in her last game.

New York’s Han Xu saw extended minutes with Stefanie Dolson in foul trouble and scored 10 points. The 6-foot-10 center from China is a crowd favorite and finished just short of her career high of 12 points set in 2019. She missed the last two seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic and playing for China’s Olympic team last summer.

New York got off to a hot start and led 9-2 behind Howard before Dallas scored 15 of the next 17 points. Gray had 10 points in the quarter and the Wings led 26-22 after one. The Wings held a 39-37 advantage at halftime.

HOMECOMING

It’s always special for Wings coach Vickie Johnson when she comes back to New York. She starred for the Liberty from 1997-2005 and is in the franchise’s ring of honor.

SIDELINED

New York guard DiDi Richards was out after re-aggravating a right hamstring injury on Friday. She played four minutes in that game and coach Sandy Brondello said there’s no timetable to her return...Guard Rebecca Allen was back with the team after losing in the finals of the Spanish League. She didn’t dress for the game but could play Tuesday in the team’s next game against Connecticut.

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