DHJ Quick Take: Li Yueru Powers Dallas Wings Past Chicago Sky
The Dallas Wings erased a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Chicago Sky 93-92, with reserve center Li Yueru‘s defense on Kamilla Cardoso and late free throws delivering the win.
- How did Dallas win? A 36-point fourth quarter and Li Yueru’s clutch defense and free throws turned a double-digit deficit into a 93-92 victory.
- Who led the Wings? Jessica Shepard scored a team-high 21 points, and Paige Bueckers hit a four-point play to pull Dallas within one.
- Why did Li Yueru matter? She walled off Kamilla Cardoso, drew her sixth foul and sank both free throws for the Wings’ only lead of the night.
- What’s next? Dallas turns its attention to Seattle on Monday.
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Wings‘ close 93-92 victory over the Chicago Sky was a battle won in the depths of the paint where post players standing at 6-foot-4 and taller traded blows and fought for dominance.
The Sky asserted their dominance down low early as 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso feasted on the Wings’ defense.
She managed to get Wings center Awak Kuier into early foul trouble and overwhelmed Wings center Jessica Shepard with her strength. By halftime, Cardoso already had 14 points, surpassing her 11.9 point per game season average.
“(The Sky) do a great job getting (the ball) to her,” Wings head coach Jose Fernandez said. “You know, if you play behind her, where’s the double gonna come from? And then also if you front her, the backside help has got to be there. I mean, we tried just about everything. But she gets so deep and she’s gonna finish around the rim.”
The only player who had some semblance of success guarding Cardoso was Alanna Smith, but she left the game after the first quarter due to a face injury and did not return to the match.
Jessica Shepard Powers The Dallas Wings’ Response
However, the Wings had an explosive offensive performance from a post of their own keeping them in the game. After getting off to a rough start in the first half, Shepard started to find her footing in the second, using sound footwork to get to the basket and finishing through contact.
Shepard had similar success in the Wings’ previous matchup against the Sky on May 20, as she recorded an 18-point, 10-rebound, 12-assist triple-double, the third in franchise history and first in the league this season.
Tonight she led the Wings in scoring, finishing with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. But despite her stellar performance, particularly after halftime, Dallas still trailed 71-57 going into the fourth quarter.
Li Yueru Anchors The Paint Against Kamilla Cardoso
With Awak Kuier in foul trouble and eventually fouling out, Alanna Smith out for the rest of the game with an injury and Jessica Shepard unable to affect Kamilla Cardoso on the defensive end, the Wings were still searching for an answer to the Sky’s paint domination.
Luckily, Dallas had one more trick up their sleeve. Enter 6-foot-7 Wings center Li Yueru.
In the Wings’ previous matchup against the Sky, Yueru played 19 crucial minutes, recording 7 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists, as well as a game-high plus-18 rating. Her large frame and physical baseline defense stifled Cardoso and forced her out of her low-block comfort zone.
“(Yueru) was a huge impact. Just tremendous,” Fernandez said about her performance after the match. “Cardoso was getting everything she wanted. She was tough to defend. Li changed the game defensively because at least she could push her out and wall up and also provide that resistance inside.”
Tonight she repeated that success, playing 15 minutes and recording 5 points and 6 rebounds while holding her own against Cardoso on a night when no one else could faze her.
“Li just did a great job,” Shepard said after the match. “Both times we played Chicago she came in and played huge minutes for us. And it’s hard to be in that position, it’s hard to stay ready and I think she just does a great job of just staying ready. She does her work outside of the practices and today, for us, she was a huge help.”
Paige Bueckers And Li Yueru Spark The Fourth-Quarter Surge
The battle came down to the wire after a four-point play from Paige Bueckers brought the Wings within 1 point of the Sky late in the fourth quarter.
“Somebody set me a great screen and I saw a little bit of daylight,” Bueckers said. “I knew I had to go up. So just having that confidence and my teammate’s doing a great job of getting me open and then just trying to knock it down.”
With 12.5 seconds left, Yueru drew Cardoso’s sixth and final foul, ending her night at the most critical moment. As Chicago fought to protect its one-point lead, Cardoso could be seen crying on the bench after fouling out.
Not long after, Yueru would add to her heroics and finish off the Sky with a deciding blow as she sank both of her free throws to give the Wings their first and only lead of the entire night.
“Actually, I’ve been in that situation before with the national team,” Yueru said after the match. “So I do not really feel the big pressure, but I still feel my heart jumping really fast. So I try to bring a win for our team and I appreciate my teammates trusting me and I just want to focus on the moment and be ready for every second.”
The Sky couldn’t respond and the Wings narrowly escaped with a 93-92 victory.
“We work so hard in this sport and some nights it’s not your night shooting the ball, but until the buzzer sounds, things can always change,” Wings guard Paige Bueckers said. “And that’s kind of what we did as a team. We stuck with it. We were resilient. We didn’t shoot that great until like the last five minutes really. So for us to stick together, stay positive, keep just having positive reinforcement that we’re still in it and we’re still going to keep fighting is kind of what you have to do.”
Dallas Wings’ 36-Point Fourth Quarter Makes Franchise History
The team’s performance was historic. Dallas erupted for 36 points in the fourth quarter, surpassing its previous season-high of 34 points in a quarter set against Chicago earlier this year. It marked the franchise’s highest-scoring quarter since a 41-point period in a 113-110 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in 2024 and tied for the fourth-most points in a quarter in team history.
The comeback was equally rare. The Wings had not overcome a deficit of 17 points or more since 2024, and it was just the third time in franchise history they erased a deficit of at least 15 points in the third quarter or later to win.
For three and a half quarters, the Sky controlled the paint, the scoreboard and the narrative. But when Dallas was searching for an answer, it came in the form of Li Yueru. In a game defined by size, physicality and interior dominance, Yueru’s steady presence and clutch play under pressure helped turn a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit into one of the most improbable wins of the Wings’ season so far.
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