Arike Ogunbowale is hopeful for the Wings’ future

Despite losing in the first round to the Chicago Sky on Thursday, the Dallas Wings have a lot to look forward to.

Satou Sabally, who made her way back Thursday after missing eight straight games with an Achilles injury, led a 21-11 third quarter run with eight points. She would finish with 12 points on the night with ESPN’s Holly Rowe reporting during the game that Sabally actually got sick in the second half as well.

Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 22 points on the night before fouling out late in the game.

Still, Ogunbowale is not getting down on herself or the team.

“With having a young team, we personally had a lot of expectations for ourselves,” she said postgame. “Obviously we expected it, but we weren’t supposed to get here. This was a big step for us. Last year we almost made it, this year we got there, now next year we’re gonna get a win.

“This is just the beginning. We have a really young team. The core is staying together. We can just use this year to think on it and just build.

“We’ve touched [the playoffs], so now it’s players that have been in the playoffs and they know what it takes. So that’s really good for next year.”