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Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) leaves the court after their 81-82 loss against Atlanta Dream after an WNBA basketball game at College Park Center, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Arlington. (Chitose Suzuki/Staff Photographer)
ARLINGTON — In the lead up to the first game out of the All-Star break, Dallas Wings coach Jose Fernandez repeatedly emphasized how the team’s two early-season losses to the Atlanta Dream happened a long time ago.
It was certainly the right mindset. But the Wings couldn’t avoid a sweep on Wednesday night at College Park Center, despite being in control of the game until about the last 90 seconds of their 82-81 loss to the Dream.
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Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) keeps the ball away from Atlanta Dream guard Jordin Canada (3) during the second half of an WNBA basketball game at College Park Center, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Arlington. (Chitose Suzuki/Staff Photographer)
Atlanta guard Allisha Gray made three late free throws after a reckless closeout call on Arike Ogunbowale. Gray hit another shot after her trip to the line for the Dream lead. Dallas couldn’t answer that bucket.
“You can track calls and certain officials and do this, do that,” Fernandez said postgame. “[If] we defend better in that fourth quarter and don’t give up offensive rebounds and make our free throws and we finish the game off, it doesn’t come down to that last possession.”
The Wings lost to Atlanta (17-10) twice in May, the month the 2026 WNBA season opened, by scores of 77-72 and 86-69, respectively. Each of the Wings’ two lowest point totals of the season came against the Dream, which boasts All-Stars in Gray, Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard.
Dallas (18–10), staking claim to All-Stars Paige Bueckers and Jessica Shepard, had a much better offensive showing the third time around. Ogunbowale scored a team-high 24 points on 9 of 16 shooting and rookie Azzi Fudd, recently crowned the 3-point champion during All-Star weekend, recorded 20 points on 9 of 13 shooting. Bueckers and Shepard each added 16 points, as the Wings shot 49.3% from the floor in one of their toughest losses of the season.
“I was proud of our team’s effort and our energy and our physicality,” Fernandez said postgame. “It’s a tough way to lose a basketball game, but now you’ve got to put it behind you and respond.”
Sitting at fourth place in the league standings, playoffs are in sight for a team that finished 10–34 a year ago.
Talks of championship potential surrounded the team before the All-Star break. But Dallas has a few things to work out during the back half of the regular season, with improvement on the defensive side of the ball being a point of emphasis and the WNBA trade deadline approaching Sunday.
Prior to the clash with Atlanta, Dallas had allowed an average of 86.2 points per game and had a defensive rating that ranked fifth among the league’s 15 teams, according to Basketball Reference.
The Wings made a solid effort on the defensive side of the ball, coming up with nine steals, five blocks and holding Atlanta stars Howard and Jordin Canada to 12 points combined. But they had a harder time containing Reese and Gray, who scored 22 and 25 points, respectively.
“I thought our defense was, right until the end, really good,” Fudd said postgame. “I thought we were locked in on our coverage on our schemes and what we were trying to accomplish.”
Dallas signed former Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith, the reigning co-defensive player of the year, to a multi-year deal in free agency. But she’s struggled with injuries throughout the season, averaging 3.8 points on 38.5% shooting, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20 games.
Smith, tied with Ogunbowale as the highest-paid on the roster, was available Wednesday but she did not play. Rumors have floated around that Smith could be traded ahead of the Sunday deadline. Forwards Maddy Siegrist and Alysha Clark also did not see the floor Wednesday.
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