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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.<\/p>\n
Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
A record-breaking performance<\/a> from Arike Ogunbowale<\/a> on Wednesday night at College Park Center kept the Dallas Wings<\/a> alive in their best-of-three first round series against the Golden State Valkyries.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Big performances from the big three\u00a0<\/p>\n Dallas\u2019 big three of Ogunbowale, Paige Bueckers<\/a>\u00a0and Jessica Shepard<\/a> must all show up on Friday night at \u201cBallhalla,\u201d the nickname for the ferocious Valkyries\u2019 home environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Golden State\u2019s intense focus on Bueckers opened up the opportunity for Ogunbowale to explode for 45 points in Dallas\u2019 108-100 overtime win in Game 2. It also made up for Bueckers\u2019 3-of-13 shooting night and Shepard\u2019s four points on 2-of-5 shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the Valkyries will likely throw more bodies at Ogunbowale in Game 3, and the Wings can\u2019t afford another off night from Bueckers or Shepard \u2014 especially if Ogunbowale\u2019s shots don\u2019t fall like they did Wednesday.<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Strong bench minutes<\/p>\n While Ogunbowale\u2019s performance was the main story from Wednesday night\u2019s thriller, the Wings\u2019 bench also played a crucial role in that win.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t been able to rely as heavily on their second unit to remain competitive, often leading to heavy minutes, and thus fatigue, for their starters.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n