Dallas Shows Promise Early Before Late Collapse Against Minnesota

The Dallas Wings had the tempo. The ball movement. The lead.

They still did not have the finish.

Dallas fell to the Minnesota Lynx 90-86 Thursday night at College Park Center, letting another close game slip away late. The Wings owned the pace for much of the night but Minnesota’s veteran savvy, downhill pressure and late-game pick-and-roll game exposed issues Dallas is still trying to clean up three games into the season.

“We don’t want to panic, but we also want to hold ourselves accountable to the standard that we want to set,” Paige Bueckers said. “That’s what this league is all about: close games, learning how to finish.”

Bueckers ended up finishing with 27 points and eight assists, helping Dallas find rhythm early. Dallas opened the game with sharp movement and offensive balance, assisting on 11 of their first 12 baskets. That tempo helped Dallas jump ahead early in the first quarter and forced Minnesota onto its heels.

Jose Fernandez said it was simple.

“We made extra passes,” Fernandez said. “The ball moved from side to side. It didn’t matter who took shots.”

That wasn’t true as the game wore on.

Dallas finished with 16 assists by halftime but just 22 on the night. The ball slowed. The offense bogged down. And when shots stopped falling, defensive breakdowns became more costly.

Minnesota attacked Dallas repeatedly late, much of it coming in pick-and-roll action. Fernandez said Minnesota didn’t run anything Dallas hadn’t seen before. Dallas simply didn’t execute well enough.

“Apparently, it wasn’t a lot going on because they got everything they wanted. We went up to touch, we went over ball screens, we switched, we trapped. When things are not going well for you offensively, you got to play a lot harder on the defensive end.”

Bueckers agreed.

“We just weren’t communicating on pick-and-roll defense,” she said. “We weren’t even necessarily on a string.”

Dallas’ late struggles continued an early trend for the team. The Wings have already played three close games this season. Dallas opened with a win at Indiana before dropping back-to-back home contests against Atlanta and Minnesota.

For Bueckers, panic is not the solution. Urgency is.

“We don’t want to keep dropping games,” Bueckers said. “Obviously, you want to protect home court, so as much as you play at home, you want to win. But to also learn and to grow and to not let one loss bleed into the next game.”

Minnesota knew Dallas speed would be a factor before the game started. Natasha Howard said pregame the Lynx needed to get back in transition and box out because “everybody can actually push the ball.” Kayla McBride said Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale and Odyssey Sims gave Minnesota problems with their backcourt speed.

“They just have talent all around,” McBride said. “Our transition D is going to be big, and we know that.”

Dallas controlled the early pace, but Minnesota eventually settled into the type of game Cheryl Reeve teams are typically built for. The Lynx became stronger on the glass, more physical downhill and steadied their play in the fourth quarter.

“I think gritty toughness,” McBride said when asked before the game what Reeve teams do well. “Cheryl, that’s her MO. So it usually rubs off on us pretty quickly.”

Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith faced their former team Thursday night after both spent last season with Minnesota. Reeve praised both before the game, calling them “great overall basketball players” with a strong sense for the game.

“Lan has emerged into a really fine defensive player,” Reeve said. “Jess has really matured offensively, has a strong identity in what she does. She’s always understood how to play the game, move the basketball, share it well, rebound it well.”

Maddy Siegrist gave Dallas a big lift off the bench, scoring 17 points on efficient offense when Dallas needed a spark. Fernandez was especially pleased by her first-half performance.

“She came in and did her job,” Fernandez said.

Azzi Fudd played around 20 minutes in her home debut. She praised the crowd’s reaction as “amazing,” but said she’s still feeling her way through the WNBA’s speed and physicality.

“I got to learn how to get over, get through ball screens better, how to keep my hands off and not foul so much,” Fudd said.

Across the floor, Olivia Miles continued Thursday what she’s done early in Minnesota: impress the Lynx with her early play. Reeve said Miles has been “humble, but also confident” through camp and her first two games. Miles credited her TCU experience and veteran presence in Minnesota for helping her along early.

“To have vets who believe and trust and want the best for you is rare,” Miles said. “I just got so lucky with my situation.”

For Dallas, the message was blunter.

Fernandez said the Wings have to stop thinking about roles, minutes and shots.

“There’s selfishness in this locker room,” Fernandez said. “There it is.”

Then Fernandez made the standard abundantly clear.

“Really good teams, they don’t give a s… about that,” Fernandez said. “They give a s… about winning, because that’s what matters.”

Dallas will look to respond Monday when Lauren Betts and the Washington Mystics bring another early-season test to College Park Center.