Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) lays up and makes a second half layup against the Los Angeles Sparks at College Park Center in Arlington, September 17, 2026.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
A record-breaking performance from Arike Ogunbowale on Wednesday night at College Park Center kept the Dallas Wings alive in their best-of-three first round series against the Golden State Valkyries.
The No. 7-seeded Wings now have the chance to win the series. Here are four things they must do to steal Game 3 against the No. 2 seed Valkyries on Friday night at Chase Center.
Big performances from the big three
Dallas’ big three of Ogunbowale, Paige Bueckers and Jessica Shepard must all show up on Friday night at “Ballhalla,” the nickname for the ferocious Valkyries’ home environment.
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In Game 1, a 104-80 Wings loss, Bueckers carried Dallas with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting and a team-high six rebounds. Ogunbowale finished with 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting and Shepard went 0 of 7 from the floor and scored no points.
Golden State’s intense focus on Bueckers opened up the opportunity for Ogunbowale to explode for 45 points in Dallas’ 108-100 overtime win in Game 2. It also made up for Bueckers’ 3-of-13 shooting night and Shepard’s four points on 2-of-5 shooting.
But the Valkyries will likely throw more bodies at Ogunbowale in Game 3, and the Wings can’t afford another off night from Bueckers or Shepard — especially if Ogunbowale’s shots don’t fall like they did Wednesday.
It’s been rare this year that all three players have clicked on the same day. That needs to happen Friday in a hostile environment with the season on the line.
Strong bench minutes
While Ogunbowale’s performance was the main story from Wednesday night’s thriller, the Wings’ bench also played a crucial role in that win.
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Veteran forward Alysha Clark contributed a season-high 21 points and Aziaha James added 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Dallas, which has asked a lot of its starters this season, needs another showing like that from its reserves.
The Valkyries arguably have the strongest bench in the league, and they utilize it well to give their starters relief while still staying in the game. The Wings haven’t been able to rely as heavily on their second unit to remain competitive, often leading to heavy minutes, and thus fatigue, for their starters.
Bueckers may have told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after Game 2 that she wants to “feel like I’m dead” after Game 3, but she and the other starters can’t have their bodies give out against the league’s top defense, which has keyed on Bueckers all season.
Play the Valkyries’ game
After Dallas’ Game 1 loss, Bueckers praised the Valkyries for being a defensive-minded team first.
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“They’re always locked in defensively, and I think we can take something from that,” she said. “We’ve been a team that has a bad habit of letting made or missed shots dictate how we play on the defensive end, and this is the playoffs, so that’s really unacceptable.”
The Wings broke that habit in Game 2. Strong defensive play led to buckets on the other end. Two Ogunbowale steals turned into Wings points in the first half, which Dallas closed up 50-45.
Late in the third quarter, Bueckers missed a shot and then made a steal shortly after. The Valkyries fouled Ogunbowale on that next possession and officials awarded her two free throws.
Dallas needs that kind of defensive intensity in Game 3 – and essentially have to beat Golden State at what it does best.
No possessions off
In Game 2, the Wings played at max effort — like every possession was their last.
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That mentality is what allowed for Ogunbowale to tie the game at 93 on a three with 4.1 seconds remaining in the game and force overtime. Dallas needs that same urgency in Game 3.
“We have to have an intensity, a sense of urgency and an intentionality about us every single possession,” Bueckers said ahead of Game 2. “We can’t take possessions off. I mean, it’s the playoffs.”