The Dallas Wings will look to take their home success on the road and stay in the hunt for better playoff seeding when they visit the Phoenix Mercury to complete a home-and-home set Monday night.
Fresh off a 6-0 homestand, the Wings (26-16) remain one of the hottest teams in the WNBA. They’ve clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2023, set the franchise mark for victories and made a bid to move up the standings to improve their postseason positioning.
Dallas, New York and Washington are tied for sixth place with two games to play. Dallas owns the tiebreaker with the Liberty on the strength of a better head-to-head record, while the Mystics would get the better seed if they finished knotted with the Wings.
“I think they know the importance of these final two games,” Dallas coach Jose Fernandez said after Saturday’s win.
Dallas completed its regular-season home schedule with an 87-82 win over the Mercury on Saturday. Paige Bueckers, who put up a game-high 26 points, has been her team’s leading scorer in nine of its past 11 contests and set a new WNBA mark for the most points (1,515) by a player through their first two years in the league.
Twenty of Bueckers’ points in Saturday’s win came in the first half. Arike Ogunbowale added 22 points, Awak Kuier had 11 and Jessica Shepard scored 10 in the victory.
It was the Wings’ final regular season game in College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. The arena will host at least one Dallas playoff game, and more if the Wings advance past the first round, before the Wings move to the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas for next season.
“The fans have stuck with us through good seasons, bad seasons — more bad seasons than good seasons,” Ogunbowale said. “Glad that it’s finally turned around, and they have something to come and cheer for.”
The Mercury (15-27) will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2023 and for just the third time since 2008. Phoenix played without leading scorer Kahleah Copper on Saturday for the third straight game because of a groin injury but went toe-to-toe with the Wings, drawing within four points on a Lexi Held free throw with 31 seconds to play before coming up short.
Held finished with 21 points to pace Phoenix while Alyssa Thomas produced a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, and Natasha Mack hit for 16 points.
“We want to be competitive — we want to compete to the end,” Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said. “(It’s about) continuing to play with pride, play the right way, play for each other. The biggest thing is just our effort.”
Copper is listed as probable to return for Monday’s game.
–Field Level Media
