Paige Bueckers scored 20 of her 26 points in the first half, Arike Ogunbowale had 22 points and six assists, and the Dallas Wings beat the Phoenix Mercury 87-82 on Saturday for their sixth straight victory.
Ogunbowale was fouled on a driving layup with 1:19 remaining and she completed the three-point play to extend the lead to 86-81.
Aziaha James made a key steal down the stretch and Bueckers was fouled with 9.7 seconds left before making 1 of 2 free throws to cap the scoring.
Dallas (26-16) passed New York and Washington for sixth place in the WNBA standings.
Paige Bueckers #5 of the Dallas Wings drives around Alyssa Thomas #25 of the Phoenix Mercury during the second half at College Park Center on Sept. 19, 2026, in Arlington, Texas.
Stacy Revere / Getty Images
Awak Kuier added 11 points for Dallas and Jessica Shepard had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. Bueckers reached the 20-point mark for the 24th time — the fourth-most in the WNBA this season.
Alyssa Thomas recorded her 23th career triple-double — and fourth of the season — with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Phoenix (15-27). Lexi Held scored 21 points and made four 3-pointers, and Natasha Mack added 16 points.
Bueckers banked in a 3-pointer while being fouled with 0.5 seconds left in the first half to give Dallas a 56-49 lead. She missed the free throw to finish the half with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She was 4 of 5 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes before finishing 5 of 9.
The teams play each other again on Monday in Phoenix.
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