The Dallas Wings set a franchise record with their sixth straight win over the Sparks, but the night ended in concern after Paige Bueckers got hurt late.
The Dallas Wings beat the Los Angeles Sparks 90-82 for their sixth straight win, the franchise record, but the night ended with concern after Paige Bueckers appeared to injure her knee and head.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez had no immediate update. However, on Monday, the Wings ruled Bueckers out against the New York Liberty due to soreness while noting she cleared the WNBA's concussion protocol.
"I don't have an update. I know she was being evaluated. I went back there to see her, but she's with our doctors, and we'll know more in the next couple of hours," Fernandez said. "I thought the team did a good job coming out of the timeout, responding, getting a stop, and then getting the ball where we wanted it. We'll know more on Paige later."
Before her injury, Bueckers had one of her best nights, with 25 points, four rebounds, and five assists in 32 minutes, marking her seventh game this season with at least 25 points and five assists—the most in the WNBA. Nine points came in the fourth quarter, raising her season-leading fourth-quarter score to 147. With Bueckers out, Ogunbowale took over, scoring eight points in the final period and ending with a 4-0 run. Fernandez noted Ogunbowale's standout response.
"Paige went down, and she's upset with AZ because she said Azzi tripped her and took away her charge," Fernandez said jokingly. "I thought Arike was really assertive down the stretch. Those baskets, her driving to the basket, were big."
Ogunbowale scored 20 points, her ninth this season, and said closing out games is second nature for the team.
"Obviously we needed a bucket to kind of seal the game. I came in just wanting to maintain," Ogunbowale said. "The main thing was keeping the lead, not turning it over, putting everybody in the right spots to get a good shot, and that's just what happened."
Dallas opened with a 9-0 run and led 27-17 after the first quarter. Los Angeles briefly led early in the third on Ogwumike's basket at 51-50. The Wings responded with a 14-7 run, led by Li Yueru's and-one, pushing the lead to six. They held the lead despite the Sparks closing to within four in the fourth.
Jessica Shepard posted her 16th double-double of the season, setting a Wings franchise record and ranking second in the WNBA behind Atlanta's Angel Reese, with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists. Azzi Fudd scored 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals, tying the rookie record for steals in a season. Fernandez highlighted the bench, including Odyssey Sims, Yueru, Alysha Clark, Aziaha James, and Maddy Siegrist, as crucial during the three games in four days.
"Odyssey gave us some really good minutes, both from a playmaking standpoint and getting the ball where we needed it to go, allowing Paige to play off the ball," Fernandez said. "We needed contributions from our bench with these three games in four days."
Sims said the bench group prides itself on always being ready.
"We know everybody is important on this team, not just the starters. We talk about it all the time: be ready whenever your number is called," Sims said. "Today we had really good bench production, and we know that's going to be key down the stretch because the starters can't play 30-plus minutes every night."
The win extended Dallas' win streak to six and moved the Wings to 8-2 over their last 10 games dating to June 20, their best 10-game stretch since 2023. The season sweep of Los Angeles was Dallas' first two-win season series over the Sparks since 2021, and the victory was the Wings' 10th clutch win of the season, the most in the league; Dallas entered this season having totaled just 10 clutch wins combined over the previous two years.
"The first 10 games of the season, if another team made a run, we probably would've folded. We probably would've had loose-ball turnovers and lost," Ogunbowale said. "Now, as we've gotten into the middle of the season, you can see the growth. We don't panic in those clutch moments anymore. It's almost like we've been there before, and we know what to do."
Ogwumike led Los Angeles (10-15) with 17 points and 10 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season, the fourth-most in the WNBA, and Hamby added 16 points passing 2,500 career rebounds. Cameron Brink, returning from injury, scored 10 points and matched her season high with three blocks, her eighth multi-block game. Erica Wheeler had a season-high and game-high 10 assists along with nine points. Sparks coach Lynne Roberts noted Bueckers' late-game control as a key difference for Dallas.
"They've got one of the best playmakers in the world, who does a really good job of getting others involved, and then when it's crunch time, she knows that's her time," Roberts said. "We messed up on a couple coverages there in the fourth, and that's that focus, execution piece down the stretch when everything needs to be a little more heightened."
Ogwumike said the team aims to avoid settling for encouraging losses.
"When the games are close, it does feel less bad, but I wouldn't necessarily say that we're logging moral victories," Ogwumike said. "I think at this point, we know what we want to feel, and we want to feel good basketball with a win at the end."
Dallas hosts the New York Liberty on Monday. Los Angeles hosts the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday.
