Paige Bueckers’ scoring and playmaking helped the Dallas Wings build a slim fourth-quarter lead Sunday. Now the second-year WNBA All-Star guard was looking for a winning play on the defensive end.
With 3:33 left, Bueckers’ bid to draw an offensive foul against Los Angeles Sparks All-Star Nneka Ogwumike went for naught when Wings teammate Azzi Fudd made contact with Ogwumike, sending her into Bueckers. Both players fell to the floor.
Both stayed down for about two minutes, with Ogwumike holding an already-injured left hand while Bueckers was dazed after hitting the back of her head on the floor. The former UConn star was able to walk off the court under her own power while holding her head, but she did not return as Dallas held on for a 90-82 win at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
“Paige went down and she’s upset with Azzi because she said Azzi tripped (Ogwumike) and took away Paige’s charge,” Wings first-year coach Jose Fernandez said during his postgame press conference.
Bueckers was evaluated by team doctors and was ruled out for Monday night’s game with the New York Liberty in Texas Monday afternoon. The team added she did not suffer a concussion and is not in the W’s concussion protocol. She is dealing with soreness.
Dallas (17-8) is playing on back-to-back days for the first time this season. Its game against the Liberty was postponed until Monday from last Wednesday after New York was unable to travel to Dallas because of mechanical issues with its plane.
Bueckers finished with 25 points, shooting 10 for 18 from the field, 2 for 4 from 3-point range and 3 for 3 from the free-throw line. She also had four rebounds and five assists.
The Wings led by six at halftime and by five entering the fourth quarter. The Sparks (10-15) had a chance to make it a one-possession game when Rae Burrell grabbed the rebound of an Arike Ogunbowale miss. Burrell got the ball to Ogwumike, but the contact with Fudd led to the collision with Bueckers.
Los Angeles got no closer as Odyssey Sims and Ogunbowale scored to make it 84-76, and the Wings went on to post their sixth straight win, their longest winning streak since moving to Dallas in 2016.
Fudd finished with 11 points for the Wings. Ogwumike led Los Angeles with 17.
Bueckers has played in 24 of Dallas’ 25 games this season. She ranks fourth in the WNBA in scoring (20.9 points per game) and seventh in assists (6.2), while also averaging 4.2 rebounds. She was named a starter for Saturday’s WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago.
The Wings, who won 10 games in 2025, are fourth in the WNBA standings behind the Minnesota Lynx (20-6), Golden State Valkyries (19-7) and Las Vegas Aces (17-7). Dallas plays its final game before the All-Star break Wednesday at Portland.