The Dallas Wings are facing a dilemma.
Do they play reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers on Wednesday night at Portland in their last game before the WNBA’s All-Star break? Or should they give her some more rest?
Bueckers, who hit her head on the floor late in a 90-82 victory against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, isn’t in the concussion protocol. She is listed as questionable for Wednesday.
The Wings nearly won without her Monday, but they suffered a 99-98 overtime loss to visiting New York, a game that was rescheduled after the Liberty’s charter flight had mechanical issues last week.
Arike Ogunbowale scored 29 points for Dallas (17-9), which had a franchise-record six-game winning streak snapped.
First-year Wings coach Jose Fernandez praised Bueckers, who is averaging 20.9 points, 6.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game, for her mindset whether or not she’s playing.
“Paige cares about the team’s success,” Fernandez told The IX Sports. “She cares about winning and leading. With her being out … she took (the loss) as bad as a coach would or one of her teammates.”
This will be the second meeting between the Wings and Fire this season. Portland won 84-83 at home on June 13 as Bridget Carleton scored 20 points and Emily Engstler made a tiebreaking free throw with 1.7 seconds left.
The Fire (11-15) return home after a 2-2 trip, which included a victory against Eastern Conference co-leader Atlanta. Their two losses were by a combined 11 points, including a 101-93 decision Saturday at Minnesota.
“I think it was a really good road trip for us,” Fire coach Alex Sarama told OregonLive.com. “I think we got better as a group. You know, obviously, some good wins from this trip, which always helps, but I think every day we’re continuing to get better.”
Carla Leite leads the Fire with 15.5 points and 5.8 assists per game. Megan Gustafson, who averages 12.2 points, got married over the weekend and changed her name to Megan DiLeo.
–Field Level Media
