Shepard has 22nd double-double this season, Wings beat Sun 97-71

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale scored 18 points, Jessica Shepard had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and the Dallas Wings beat the Connecticut Sun 97-71 on Sunday night in the final game before the FIBA World Cup break.

The Wings (24-16) have won four in a row and have their most wins in a season since 2007, when the franchise also won 24 games as the Detroit Shock. The Shock won a franchise-record 25 games in 2003 on their way to the first of three WNBA championships.

Dallas moved into a three-way tie with New York and Washington for sixth in the WNBA standings, two games back of Indiana and Atlanta.

Shepard had her 22nd double-double this season, second most in the WNBA — after Angel Reese with 29 — to extend the franchise record. Paige Bueckers added 15 points and six assists and Maddy Siegrist scored 11 for Dallas.

Aaliyah Edwards scored 21 of her career-best tying 26 points in the first half for the Sun (10-30). Charlisse Leger-Walker hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.

Saniya Rivers made a driving layup that gave the Sun their first lead about 4 1/2 minutes into the game at 11-10, but Bueckers scored inside 11 seconds later to put Dallas back in front for good.

Connecticut, which trailed by 13 at halftime, made 4 of 17 (23.5%) from the field, 1 of 6 from behind the arc, and hit 3 of 6 from the free-throw line as it was outscored 23-12 in the third quarter.

Sun: Plays Sept. 17 at Atlanta.

Wings: Host Los Angeles on Sept. 17.

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This story has been updated to correct that the Shock won 24 games in 2007, not 24 straight.

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