Overview:
The Dallas Wings won their opening game of the WNBA season against the Indiana Fever 107-104, with a balanced scoring performance and 26 assists on 39 made baskets. The Wings shot 39-of-66 from the field and 12-of-23 from downtown, with Ogunbowale leading the team with 22 points. The Wings' playmaking ability was on full display, with Jessica Shepard almost recording a triple-double with 13 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Dallas will look to continue their high-level offensive play while cleaning up their defensive issues in their home opener against the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Dallas Wings entered Gainbridge Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon poised to prove this season could be different.
Paced shooting, shooting from beyond the arc and balanced scoring opened the season for Dallas, which defeated the Indiana Fever 107-104 before a sold-out crowd and national TV audience. Dallas answered each Indiana run en route to spoiling Caitlin Clark’s home debut with one of the best offensive performances we’ve seen so far this opening weekend.
The Wings shot 39-of-66 from the field and 12-of-23 from downtown, finishing with 26 assists on 39 made baskets. The offensive continuity Jose Fernandez stressed during training camp and carry into preseason translated on game one against a Fever team many expect to compete at the top of the league this season.
“That’s how we want to play,” Fernandez said. “That’s the way the offense was built.”
Dallas seized control early by moving the ball quickly in transition and shooting around the perimeter. The Wings forced Indiana into rotations early and often in the first half, often creating open looks and easy scoring opportunities before the Fever defense could set itself.
“I thought that first half, we got off to a great start,” Fernandez said. “Sixty in the first half.”
Bueckers, Sims, Ogunbowale and Shepard Shine
Ogunbowale led Dallas with 22 points. Paige Bueckers and Odyssey Sims each scored 20. Sims played a huge role in dictating tempo all afternoon, while Jessica Shepard almost had a triple-double of her own with 13 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
That playmaking ability was just one reason Bueckers praised Shepard as one of Dallas’ most important offseason acquisitions.
“That’s what made her so attractive in free agency,” Bueckers said. “Her playmaking, running the offense, being someone that can alleviate pressure and just make great reads.”
“She can score, she can rebound, she can pass, she can defend,” Bueckers added. “So she’s just a really all-purpose forward who can play all positions on the floor.”
Bueckers continued her stellar preseason by providing another efficient performance in what was arguably the highest-profile game of her young career. Indiana continued to send extra defenders Bueckers’ way throughout the game, but Dallas’ rookie point guard kept her teammates organized and finished with only one turnover. In two preseason games and Saturday’s opener, Bueckers has recorded either zero or one turnovers in every game.
“She’s going to get people’s best defender,” Ogunbowale said. “They’re going to throw two at her.”
Coach Fernandez had high praise for his lead guard following the game.
“She sees things two or three times ahead of stuff,” Fernandez said. “That’s remarkable.”
Bueckers said Dallas does a good job of spacing the floor, which makes reading the defense easier.
“They sent two, so just make the right pass out of the double team,” Bueckers said. “We have so many playmakers and shotmakers on the floor that creates a lot of open looks for us in the half court.”
Season Firsts for Fudd
Dallas selected Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and she made her WNBA regular-season debut Saturday. Fudd scored her first WNBA basket on a corner 3-pointer in the second quarter and finished with three points, one rebound and one steal in 18 minutes.
“A lot of studying the plays,” Ogunbowale said of her comeback from overseas. “He has a million plays, which is great. There’s a lot of ways that we can score.”
Indiana would not go down without a fight, however, as Kelsey Mitchell, Clark and Aliyah Boston led the charge. Mitchell finished with a game-high 30 points, Clark added 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and Boston finished with 23 points of her own. Clark hit another milestone in the game, reaching 1,000 career WNBA points.
The Fever tied the game heading into the fourth quarter as the sold-out crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse cheered louder with each Indiana bucket.
Dallas would not back down, however.
The Wings pulled away late behind key buckets from Sims and Ogunbowale. Aziaha James made one of the biggest plays of the game on a four-point play early in the fourth quarter.
Indiana made one more run in the final minutes, as Clark launched a deep 3-pointer that would have tied the game in the game’s final moments. The shot missed before Mitchell’s bucket could tie the game at the buzzer.
Improving Defense This Season
Dallas held a postgame debrief focusing largely on the defense, which Fernandez and Bueckers both believe can improve as the season progresses.
“We fouled too much,” Fernandez said. “We have to do a better job.”
“Building a wall and playing as a fist on defense,” Bueckers added. “Defending without fouling, I think that’s going to be big.”
The Wings will play their home opener in Arlington in a matchup with the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday. Dallas will look to continue its high-level offensive play from game one while cleaning up the defensive issues that kept Indiana in the game.
“Preseason was just a glimpse of how good we can be,” Bueckers said.
Saturday showed how good Dallas can be, far from just a glimpse.