The Dallas Wings and Phoenix Mercury both look to return to their winning ways when they square off Thursday in a Commissioner’s Cup clash in Arlington, Texas.
The Wings (7-4, 2-1 in Commissioner’s Cup) head home after being thrashed 100-76 by the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis on Tuesday. Paige Bueckers scored 23 points to lead Dallas, which had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Arike Ogunbowale added 16 points and added six assists for the Wings while Jessica Shepard finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Top draft pick rookie Azzi Fudd had just six points on 2-for-12 shooting in the setback in which Dallas trailed by 27 points in the second quarter, by 20 at halftime and never seriously challenged after the break.
“Nights like (Tuesday) happen, but you can’t let it become a habit,” Bueckers said. “Can’t let it become something that carries from game to game. The fun thing about this league is that we have a chance to respond in less than 48 hours. So, flush this, take it in and know that we have to learn and get better and grow from it.”
Bueckers’ 18.7 points per game leads the Wings in scoring the season, while Ogunbowale (14.9), Shepard (13.4) and Fudd (11.4) also average double-digit points. Shepard paces the team with 11.2 rebounds per contest.
The Mercury (4-9, 2-2) travel to the Dallas area for the finale of a four-game road trip. Phoenix fell to Golden State 87-81 on Tuesday in San Francisco, with the setback ending a two-game winning streak.
Phoenix trailed by 17 points at halftime but roared back to draw to within 76-75 with 3:09 to play. Alyssa Thomas racked up 20 of her 22 points in the second half for the Mercury, and Monique Akoa Makani scored a season-high 19 points while playing just her sixth WNBA game after finishing her season in France.
Noemie Brochant added 10 points and six assists for Phoenix while leading scorer Kahleah Copper was held to nine points on 3-for-11 shooting.
“To come out in the second half and play the way we did – that’s just growth,” said Thomas, who also had eight rebounds and nine assists in the loss. “We could’ve easily given up in that game, but we fought our way back in and had a chance to win. We just got to keep working and continue to grow.”
Copper has amassed 17.4 points per game this season while Thomas is at 15.6, Akoa Makani is third at 12.3 while Jovana Nogic (11.0) and Natasha Mack (10.2) are also averaging double-figures.
This is the first of three meetings between the teams this year, with the final two not until September.
–Field Level Media
