ARLINGTON, Texas — The game Sunday between the Sky and Wings featured no shortage of fireworks.
The teams combined to commit 54 fouls, but it was the Sky (12-15) who maintained an edge in late-game composure and secured a 104-96 victory. Marina Mabrey scored 32 points against her former team to lead the Sky, who have won three games in a row.
‘‘The most important thing is how you bounce back in [tough] moments,’’ interim coach/general manager Emre Vatansever said. ‘‘That requires togetherness. How you get together and bounce back as a team is not just a one-person job. We were united when it mattered.’’
The tension between the teams seemed to be bubbling throughout the game, which remained competitive all the way through. Things reached a boiling point with less than four minutes left in the third quarter, when the Wings’ Odyssey Sims committed an offensive foul against Dana Evans and the two got tangled up under the basket.
When the play ended, Evans and Sims exchanged words near the Sky’s bench.
‘‘It’s all about how you take things,’’ Evans said. ‘‘You can take that as fuel to the fire, or you can take that and get frustrated. That just added fuel to our fire. We want to win at the end of the day, so we had to look past that and to the next play. That’s what we did.’’
Robyn Parks did her best to keep her benchmates off the court, but Ruthy Hebard pushed past her arm and made her way toward Evans and Sims before Vatansever intervened.
Hebard was ejected for leaving the bench, and Evans and Sims were issued technical fouls.
‘‘[Hebard] just went further than the other players,’’ Vatansever said when he was asked about Hebard’s ejection. ‘‘We tried to hold them back. But it’s OK. She just reacted to her teammates, which is good to see. But I hope she’s not going to do it again.’’
Wings star Arike Ogunbowale was ejected in the final minute for making unnecessary contact with an official. She went to the locker room with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Wings cut a 12-point deficit to four with less than two minutes left, but two key trips to the free-throw line by Mabrey added some cushion back to the Sky’s lead.
The Sky entered the game last in the WNBA in free-throw percentage at 73.7%, but they shot 85.7% (30-for-35) against the Wings.
‘‘My teammates trust me to give me the ball to get fouled,’’ Mabrey said. ‘‘I’m grateful for being able to be dependable for my team. We came here and battled, you know, and I want to step up and be there and be reliable.’’
In addition to Mabrey’s 32 points, Kahleah Copper added 23 for the Sky. Both shot 3-for-7 from three-point range. The Sky’s bench outscored the Wings’ reserves 33-20, led by Evans, who had 14 points and five assists.
It’s the second time this season the Sky have strung together a three-game winning streak. They’ve been talking all week about the corner they’ve turned in terms of finding their collective rhythm. Tuesday against the Lynx will be a test of just how solid that rhythm is, as the Sky will look to secure a fourth consecutive victory for the first time this season.
NOTE: Sky guard Courtney Williams was helped off the court after a collision with the Wings’ Satou Sabally. She re-entered, but interim coach/GM Emre Vatansever had no update on her status.
