Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers drives past a defender for a layup during a game against the Connecticut Sun on Aug. 30 at College Park Center. Bueckers scored 15 points and had six assists.
In a game that was one of the last in an era for both franchises and was the last before a two-week league-wide break, the Dallas Wings (24-16) beat the Connecticut Sun (10-30) 97-71 Sunday at College Park Center.
The blowout is Dallas’ second-largest margin of victory this season, four points behind its win over the Las Vegas Aces in June.
“It’s playoff time,” second-year guard Aziaha James said. “We gotta play like we’re in the playoffs now, so we can get ready for it.”
Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard does a layup over Connecticut Sun guard Saniya Rivers during a game Aug. 30 at College Park Center. Shepard scored 17 points.
Both teams’ fates were already decided before the matchup, with the Wings clinching a playoff berth earlier in the week with a win over the Portland Fire, while the Sun has been eliminated from postseason contention since Aug. 15.
This didn’t mean the game was without stakes, though, as the Wings went in still in contention for a finishing position up to an unlikely third place if they ran the table and got outside help.
The game was also the third to last WNBA regular season game at College Park Center before the Wings relocate to the American Airlines Center in Dallas next season. Similarly, it was the fifth to last game the Sun will play before relocating and rebranding to the Houston Comets in 2027.
Dallas Wings forward Alysha Clark, middle, hypes the team up before the game against the Connecticut Sun on Aug. 30 at College Park Center. The Wings won 97-71.
The game started close, with Connecticut staying on Dallas’ tail and even taking the lead for a brief moment. Then, in the final four minutes of the first quarter, the Wings found their groove, finishing the frame with a 17-4 run and going into the second quarter up 32-18.
The Sun led the second quarter in scoring by a point, but the Wings flew away in the third, as an 8-0 run helped the team enter the final frame with a 24-point lead. Even as Wings head coach Jose Fernandez kept the bench in the game during the fourth, the Sun couldn’t rise above the deficit.
“I talked to our team at halftime. We scored 60 points, but defensively we weren’t playing to our standard,” Fernandez said. “That needed to change, and I think it changed in the second half.”
Dallas Wings forward Alysha Clark sets up a play during a game against the Connecticut Sun on Aug. 30 at College Park Center. Clark finished the game with eight points and five rebounds.
Veteran guard Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings in points, scoring 18. Forward Jessica Shepard secured her 22nd double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Wings guard Paige Bueckers finished the game with 296 field goals made this season, just three away from tying the franchise record for most made in a season, set by Ogunbowale’s 299 in 2023.
Meanwhile, forward Awak Kuier set a record for most blocks in a single season by a Dallas Wings player since the team moved to Texas in 2016, with 57 blocks. She is also one block away from the franchise record, set by Ruth Riley in 2003.
Dallas Wings guard Aziaha James drives the ball to the basket during a game against the Connecticut Sun on Aug. 30 at College Park Center. James had nine points, two assists and three steals.
The WNBA will go on a two-week break for the Women’s Basketball World Cup, hosted Friday through Sept. 13 in Berlin. The competition will include four Wings players: Bueckers for Team USA, Chinese center Li Yueru, Australian forward Alanna Smith and Italian guard Costanza Verona.
The Wings return to action at 7 p.m. Sept. 17, taking on the Los Angeles Sparks at College Park Center.
@TyRoland06