Saturday 29 June 2019 09:57, UK
Reshanda Gray hit one of two free throws with 24.4 seconds left to lift the New York Liberty to a 69-68 victory over the Dallas Wings
Gray also racked up 13 points and 11 rebounds to play her part in getting one more win for Liberty assistant coach Charmin Smith, who had also coached her at Cal.
Smith is heading back to California to take over as the head coach of the Golden Bears having been an assistant for the Bears for the past 12 years before her switch to New York for this season.
When Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb took an assistant coaching job with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, Smith couldn't turn down a chance to be the head coach.
"Go Bears! - Charmin saw me from when I was a freshman to playing in this league. I wanted her to go out with a win," said Gray.
The Wings had a couple chances in the final seconds, but fell short, Arike Ogunbowale missing two shots that would have given Dallas the lead, to cap a miserable night for the rookie.
Her floater in the lane with 5.7secs left was rebounded by Brittany Boyd. Boyd missed both free throws, giving Ogunbowale one final opportunity, but her off-balance shot from 30 feet missed.
Ogunbowale looked at the stat sheet after the game and shook her head, finishing 2 for 23 from the field - the worst by percentage in WNBA history for a player who's taken more than 20 shots according to STATS.
"Nothing you can do about that, that's tough," she said. "Shots didn't fall."
With the game tied at 68, Gray came down with a rebound off a miss by Boyd. Isabelle Harrison got hurt on the play and had to be helped off the court. Gray missed the first free throw, but hit the second one to break the tie.
Kia Nurse led the way with 17 points and Tina Charles added 15 for New York (4-7). Kayla Thornton led Dallas (3-7) with a career-high 20 points.
Ogunbowale, the fifth pick in the draft had averaged 23.5 points in her previous two games, but was held to 10 on the night, missed her first 10 shots from the field before hitting a three-pointer in the third quarter.
She then followed that up with another three and looked as if she was starting to get going from the field as she pumped her fist after the second basket. It just wasn't her night, as she missed her last 11 shots.
Ogunbowale set the league futility mark for a player taking 20 or more shots, surpassing the 3-for-20 effort by Sheryl Swoopes in 2002. Ogunbowale also matched the record for most misses in a game that didn't go into overtime that was held by Wendy Palmer-Daniel in 1997. Maya Moore missed 23 shots against Connecticut in an overtime game in 2015.
"I've seen her hit those shots. She's got to understand that you have to play through contact and you're not going to get calls your way, so you can't stand and look at the official and complain because the other team is going in transition," said Wings coach Brian Agler.
"That's a growing she needs to make. People are going to pay attention to her."
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