‘Didn’t Help Ourselves’: Arike Ogunbowale Scores 29, But Shorthanded Dallas Wings Fall To New York Liberty In Overtime, 99-98

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Wings fell to the New York Liberty in overtime, 99-98, on Monday night at a sold-out College Park Center, snapping the Wings’ franchise-record six-game winning streak and dropping Dallas to 17-9 on the season. New York improved to 14-12.

Arike Ogunbowale scored a team-high 29 points, adding 5 rebounds and 6 assists on 9-of-24 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three and a perfect 8-of-8 at the line. She eclipsed 20 points for the 10th time this season and the third time in her last four games. Jessica Shepard posted her 17th double-double of the season with 13 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists, moving into a tie for first in the WNBA in double-doubles this year. Azzi Fudd scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting, and Maddy Siegrist added 13 off the bench, including three 3-pointers, while Awak Kuier chipped in 10 points and 4 blocks. Despite the loss, Dallas closed the season series with New York 2-1, its first series win over the Liberty since 2022.

The Wings played their second game in as many nights after Sunday’s 90-82 win over the Los Angeles Sparks, and they did it without Paige Bueckers, who was ruled out prior to tip-off. Bueckers hit her head on the floor late in Sunday’s win and, while she wasn’t in concussion protocol, the team held her out as a precaution while she dealt with soreness. Alanna Smith remained out with a right leg injury.

Breanna Stewart led all scorers with a historic line of 33 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists, becoming just the second player in WNBA history — joining Tina Thompson — to record exactly that stat line in a game. Sabrina Ionescu added 21 points, including a WNBA record-tying 12 in overtime.

Dallas Wings Trim an Early Deficit Before the Break

With Bueckers out, Fernandez rolled out his fifth different starting five of the season: Odyssey Sims, Fudd, Ogunbowale, Kuier and Shepard. Ogunbowale said pulling off a full performance with almost no time to prepare for a Liberty team Dallas had just faced less than two weeks earlier came down to habits built over four months, not a scramble the day of.

“Just being ready throughout the whole season,” Ogunbowale said. “Obviously, every team has its tendencies, and we had just played them, so we knew a little bit about what to expect. But it’s really about being adaptable and staying ready. I think everybody came prepared, from the starters to the bench.”

Fudd opened the scoring with a wide-open three, and Ogunbowale converted an and-one to put Dallas up 6-5 early, but New York shot 11-of-21 from the field and 3-of-6 from three in the frame to answer with a 10-2 run and go up 15-8. The game got physical in the process, and Fudd said keeping her composure through it was nothing new.

“I think that’s just what we’ve been doing all season,” Fudd said. “We’ve been pushing each other every day in practice and learning to keep our composure through the highs and lows of the season. Tonight wasn’t any different.”

Kuier’s back-to-back buckets trimmed the deficit to three before Siegrist checked in and scored four straight points off the bench, keeping the Wings within three, 25-22, after one quarter. New York also out-rebounded Dallas 12-8 in the opening frame, five of those on the offensive glass, matching the Liberty’s season high for offensive boards in an opening quarter. Fudd and Kuier set the tone at the other end, blocking three shots between them.

The second quarter played out much the same way. Siegrist’s third-minute three tied the game at 27, and Fudd’s deep three put Dallas back in front, 30-27, before New York ripped off a 10-2 run from 8:07 to 6:05 to go back up five. Ogunbowale sparked an 8-0 answer to put the Wings up 45-43, and the teams traded the lead six times with six ties before New York closed the half in front, 50-47. Ogunbowale (11), Fudd (10) and Siegrist (10) were all in double figures by the break, combining for 31 of Dallas’ 47 points, but New York set a season high with 16 second-chance points in the half alone — an advantage Fernandez pointed to after the game as the difference.

“The biggest number was second-chance points,” Fernandez said. “They had a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points at halftime. That’s a huge number. It came down to the glass. Rebounding was very important, and we could’ve done a much better job there.”

Fernandez added that the margin came down to a handful of correctable factors rather than one breakdown.

“We took care of the basketball. We didn’t give them extra possessions for 45 minutes. We only turned it over six or seven times. We shot a really good percentage,” Fernandez said. “We went under on personnel in two-ball-screen situations, and one of their players made two huge threes in crucial moments. Then you have the free-throw blockout and the rebounding. If you do so many different things better, it doesn’t come down to the end of regulation and overtime.”

A Third-Quarter Burst Flips the Game

New York mixed in long stretches of zone defense for most of the night, anchored by Stewart’s length at the top of it, and Fernandez said Dallas mostly got the looks it wanted against it.

“We got the ball to the nail, got it to the elbow, got it to the corners,” Fernandez said. “We missed a couple of key post-up opportunities where we had an advantage inside.” New York was whistled for just one defensive three-second violation despite the heavy zone usage, and Fernandez said afterward that Dallas “probably could’ve had three or four defensive three-second calls in the first half” alone.

Fudd credited a halftime emphasis on loose-ball possessions for the run that followed.

“They were getting a lot of the 50-50 balls in the first half,” Fudd said. “They were getting offensive rebounds and scoring off them. We wanted to tighten up our defense, win more of those 50-50 balls and limit them to one shot.”

Dallas came out of the locker room and took the lead for good, at least for a stretch. Fudd’s third three of the night sparked an 8-0 run that forced a New York timeout, and the Wings opened the third quarter by holding the Liberty scoreless on 11 straight possessions while shooting 4-of-5 with two threes of their own. That stretch alone swelled to 14-1 and pushed the Dallas lead to 61-51, with Kuier blocking her fourth shot of the game along the way, and by the time Siegrist matched her career high with a third three-pointer in the final minute of the quarter, Dallas had turned an 18-7 third-quarter run into a nine-point cushion, 68-59, entering the fourth. New York shot just 3-of-18 in the period, the worst shooting quarter the Wings have allowed an opponent since a July 7 meeting with the same Liberty team.

Stewart said the cold shooting wasn’t the same problem that had sunk New York during its losing skid.

“In the third quarter, we were just missing shots,” Stewart said. “It wasn’t offensive fouls, live-ball turnovers or some of the things that have hurt us before. Everybody in the huddle was intentional about reminding each other that we were fine and that the ball would start bouncing our way again. We stayed with it and focused on defense.” Ionescu said holding the line defensively through that stretch, rather than letting the missed shots bleed into the other end, was the difference in the game.

Ionescu echoed the same sentiment. New York remained confident that sticking to its process would translate to better results once shots started falling.

“We were getting good shots — they just weren’t falling,” Ionescu said. “I’m really glad we didn’t let that affect our defense because it’s probably the reason we won. We understood we had to win the game on the defensive end and trusted that our shots would eventually fall. We haven’t consistently done that this season, so I’m glad we took that step together tonight.”

New York Erases the Lead Down the Stretch

Fudd said the group could feel the third-quarter pace slipping away before the score reflected it.

“I think we started to slow down a little bit,” Fudd said. “We stopped pushing the pace as much, which is what we were really doing in the third quarter. If we had kept doing that, who knows what would’ve happened? I think we just got away from what was really working for us.”

Shepard’s basket at the 6:01 mark of the fourth quarter, her 17th double-double of the season, pushed Dallas’ lead back into double figures at 75-64. New York answered with a 14-3 run from 5:15 to 2:24 — a stretch that included a decisive 12-1 burst late in the window — to tie the game at 78, and Ogunbowale’s deep three, her eighth point of the quarter, put the Wings back in front, 81-78, with two minutes to go. Stewart’s two free throws gave New York the lead back with 12.9 seconds left, 82-81, and the final sequence turned chaotic from there: Ogunbowale drew a foul with 6.9 seconds remaining that was overturned on replay review, New York split a pair of free throws to go up two, and Ogunbowale answered with two of her own to tie the game at 83 with 3.5 seconds on the clock. New York’s half-court heave at the buzzer missed off the rim, sending the game to overtime.

Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said the final seconds of regulation were nerve-wracking from his side of the court, too.

“Absolutely,” DeMarco said when asked if he was holding his breath as Dallas got a shot off. “When you’ve lost a few games in a row, everything feels harder. We knew we weren’t coming on the road and winning by 40 to solve everything. We had to fight through it. I couldn’t be prouder of our team. Whoever was on the floor, our bench, everybody believed we were going to get back into the game. We found a way and finished it.”

Fernandez pointed to the handoff that set up the tying free throws as one of the possessions Dallas will review first from the finish, noting the Wings still had a timeout in their pocket to advance the ball if needed.

Dallas’ offense in the fourth quarter and overtime leaned heavily on its two leading scorers, something Fernandez said was by design.

“We came out and got Jess touches. We got AZ touches,” Fernandez said. “When they answered with those two threes, those were huge, and the offensive rebounding hurt us. Down the stretch, they put the ball in Breanna Stewart’s and Sabrina Ionescu’s hands. Those are two really, really good players. Our defensive coverage got messed up a little bit in those situations.”

Arike Ogunbowale’s Final Look Rims Out in Overtime

DeMarco said the message heading into the extra period was to keep playing on the front foot rather than protect a tie.

“We have phenomenal leadership in our huddle,” DeMarco said. “We’ve talked over and over again about locking in when we need to. If we fall behind, we’re going to make a run. Things aren’t always going to go our way, but we have to control the effort plays and keep coming. We talked about putting our foot on the gas and playing to win, then living with the results. I’m just so proud of this group. We got down, fought back, survived a tough third quarter and got phenomenal performances from a lot of people.”

Fudd’s pull-up jumper opened the extra period, and the teams traded baskets until Ogunbowale’s three put Dallas ahead 93-90 with 2:39 to go. New York shot 6-of-7 from the field in overtime, and Ionescu supplied most of it, scoring three straight baskets to put the Liberty back in front, 97-93, with 1:20 remaining, and finishing the period a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor for 12 points — tying the WNBA record for points in a single overtime period and tying the league mark for field goals made without a miss in one. Ionescu said her shot simply hadn’t been falling before that, not that anything mechanically was off.

“My shot felt good. The basketball gods just weren’t in my favor early,” Ionescu said. “They were rolling in and out. I just continued to stick with it. My teammates kept pouring into me, Chris kept putting me in good spots, and when overtime started, it felt like a chance to reset. I just kept believing the next shot was going in. That’s the shooter’s mentality you have to have.”

Ogunbowale’s third three of the night cut the deficit to one, 99-98, with 27.5 seconds left, and Dallas’ defense forced a shot-clock violation on the ensuing possession to get the ball back for a chance to win it. Ogunbowale couldn’t get her floater to fall in the lane as time expired, and New York held on.

“We were just trying to get a bucket and get to the basket,” Ogunbowale said of the final possession. “We only had about three seconds, so we were just trying to get something up. It probably could’ve been a better shot, for sure, but what can you do?”

Ogunbowale was more direct about the sequence that put Dallas in that position in the first place, pointing to a lead the Wings had built and let slip.

“We did have a lead, and we gave that up,” Ogunbowale said. “It wasn’t all because of anything else — we didn’t help ourselves either. We just have to execute better and get stops.”

Paige Bueckers Watches From the Bench, Dallas Wings Still Take the Series

Fernandez said the ability to push a game like this to overtime without his leading scorer said something about the group he’s built.

“Paige is a very, very important part of our team. She’s one of the best players in the league,” Fernandez said. “For us to compete the way we did without her shows the type of character we have in our locker room.”

Bueckers spent the night in the first seat on the Dallas bench, fully engaged in every possession despite not playing, which Fernandez said fits who she is.

“She’s the ultimate professional,” Fernandez said. “Paige cares about team success. Paige cares about winning and leading. Being out bothered her just as much as it would’ve bothered a coach or one of her teammates.”

Dallas has now lost twice this season by one point without Bueckers in the lineup, and both times the Wings pushed the game to the final possession. Ogunbowale said the loss, and the atmosphere that came with it against the two-time-defending-champion Liberty, is worth carrying into the postseason.

“It definitely had a playoff atmosphere and playoff feel,” Ogunbowale said. “This film will help us a lot with execution, time management and everything that comes with those types of games.”

A Different Mood in New York’s Locker Room

The win carried extra weight for New York, which arrived in Arlington on a four-game losing streak that included a 108-88 blowout loss at Indiana on Saturday. Stewart said the result was meaningful without solving everything the Liberty have dealt with in that stretch.

“I don’t want to say relief because it’s not over. The hardships and struggles we’ll go through this season aren’t over,” Stewart said. “But this was definitely a success because of the way we stayed with it. I think this has to be one of our season lows in turnovers. We were really intentional with our game plan on both ends of the floor and played the way we know we’re capable of playing. Now we have to carry it into the next game before the All-Star break.”

Stewart, who has carried a heavier offensive load during New York’s rough stretch, said she’s tried to focus on the parts of her game within her control.

“Just doing whatever it takes,” Stewart said. “I want to make an impact every time I’m on the court. I was really annoyed after the last game because of my missed free throws and turnovers. I’m trying to play freely while still making the right play and controlling the intangibles. Whether we win or lose, I’m going to leave everything I have on the floor.”

New York’s rotation stayed thin even with Satou Sabally, Leonie Fiebich and Marine Johannès all unavailable, and DeMarco still didn’t turn to every healthy body on the roster. Asked afterward why Betnijah Laney-Hamilton didn’t factor into the night, DeMarco pointed to the numbers game a deep roster creates.

“We have a lot of depth on this team, and roles change from game to game,” DeMarco said. “I’m really proud of how this team fought tonight. The challenge with having so many good players is there are only so many minutes available. We have confidence in everybody, and I thought that showed tonight.”

Breanna Stewart Joins Rare Company as New York Sets Season Highs on the Glass

Stewart’s night went well beyond the box score total. She passed Courtney Vandersloot for 10th on the Liberty’s all-time assists list during the game and recorded her 1,000th career assist, becoming the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 6,000 points, 2,500 rebounds and 1,000 assists and just the fifth player ever to hit those marks. She also passed Nicole Powell for 12th in franchise 3-pointers, logged her 17th career 30-point double-double — the second-most in WNBA history — extended her streak of 15-plus-point games to 11 in a row, tied for the third-longest in franchise history and the longest of her Liberty tenure, and now has at least one steal or block in 21 consecutive games, tied for the longest active streak in the league this season.

Stewart said the Liberty’s rebounding numbers, including a season-high 17 offensive boards, reflect an emphasis she and Jonquel Jones set out to prioritize.

“That’s something we want to be part of our identity,” Stewart said. “When we control the boards, we’re limiting the other team’s opportunities. JJ and I talked yesterday about making double-doubles the expectation because rebounds are effort plays. I’m really happy we controlled the glass and created second-chance opportunities.”

Jones added her own double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, passing Essence Carson for 10th on the Liberty’s career scoring list and moving into the WNBA’s top 50 all-time in field goals made. She and Stewart have now posted double-doubles together in the same game 11 times, the second-most by any teammate pair in league history, and Stewart and Ionescu have each scored 20-plus points in a game together for the 16th time. Off the bench, rookie Marine Fauthoux set career highs with 10 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the first rookie guard in WNBA history to post 10 points, 10 rebounds and two 3-pointers off the bench in a game and just the seventh rookie to do it at all, playing the entirety of overtime in the process. DeMarco was direct about what she’s brought to the rotation.

“She’s a competitor,” DeMarco said of Fauthoux. “She’s played at a very high level, she’s a winner, and her teammates trust her.”

Pauline Astier reached 250 career points faster than any Liberty rookie since Crystal Robinson in 1999, Rebecca Allen collected the 200th block of her career in her first start for New York since 2022, and Rebekah Gardner grabbed the 250th rebound of her career. Stewart, Jones and Fauthoux each finishing with a points-rebounds double-double made New York just the 10th team in WNBA history, and the first since 2023, to get three from the same game. It backed up a night where the Liberty set season highs in total rebounds (48), offensive rebounds (17) and second-chance points (30) while committing a season-low 8 turnovers — the 30-6 second-chance-point margin ties for the second-largest by any team over the past three seasons, and it’s the same numbers Fernandez singled out as the reason the game reached overtime at all.

For as long as Ionescu has played alongside Stewart, she said nights like this one have stopped catching her off guard.

“It’s nothing we don’t already know,” Ionescu said. “She doesn’t surprise us with these stat lines anymore. She probably could’ve had two more assists if I’d made a couple shots. She’s great at everything she does — as a leader and as a player. She’s been doing it every year I’ve played with her. Nothing surprises me anymore. I’m just proud of the way she continues to get better every time we step on the floor.”

Dallas (17-9) closes out its stretch of three games in four days on Wednesday against the Portland Fire, with tip-off at Moda Center set for 9 p.m. CT on USA Network and locally on KFAA. Bueckers, who isn’t in concussion protocol, is considered a possibility to return for that game before the Wings break for the WNBA All-Star Game.