INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Satau Sabally took over with 28 of her career-high 40 points in the second half and the Dallas Wings clinched a playoff berth with a 110-100 win over the Indiana Fever on Friday night.
Sabally, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury, shot 13 for 19, including a career-high seven 3-pointers on 10 attempts.
Arike Ogunbowale added 25 points and set the franchise single-season scoring record with 757 points. Behind Sabally and Ogunbowale, who was 4 of 5 behind the arc, the Wings (20-16) made 14 of 24 3-pointers and shot 51 per cent overall.
Aliyah Boston had 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Fever (11-25), who had their three-game losing streak snapped and were officially eliminated from the playoffs. Kelsey Smith added 25 points and Nalyssa Smith had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Boston is just the fifth rookie in league history with a game of at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. The others are Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson.
In the 800th game in franchise history, Indiana for the first time scored 100 points with the bench scoring less than five.
Ogunbowale had four 3s and 18 points in the first half as the Wings opened a 54-46 lead.
After a high-scoring third quarter in which Sabally scored 13 points, Dallas took an 80-77 lead into the fourth quarter. Sabally opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers and she went on to score 15, all on 3s.
The teams play again tomorrow in Dallas.
There are only five games left in the WNBA season.