‘Total Team Effort’: Paige Bueckers Ties Franchise Assist Record, Arike Ogunbowale Scores 30 As Dallas Wings Beat Los Angeles Sparks 104-96

LOS ANGELES — The Dallas Wings turned a one-point game after three quarters into their fourth straight win, outscoring the Los Angeles Sparks 27-18 in the fourth quarter for a 104-96 victory Friday at Crypto.com Arena.

The win moved Dallas to 7-3 and 2-0 in Commissioner’s Cup play. It was the Wings’ first regular-season road win over the Sparks since May 26, 2024, and extended their winning streak to four, the longest for Dallas since the 2023 regular season.

All five Dallas starters scored in double figures. Arike Ogunbowale led the way with a season-high 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in 34 minutes, while Paige Bueckers tied the franchise single-game assist record. Jessica Shepard posted 22 points and 15 rebounds, and Maddy Siegrist scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter.

The Wings shot 53.2% (41-of-77) from the field, hit a season-high 41 field goals, and tied their season high with 30 assists. Dallas reached the century mark for the second time this season and improved to 6-0 when scoring at least 90 points.

Arike Ogunbowale Powers Dallas Wings With Season-High 30 Points

Ogunbowale shot 10-of-21 from the field and 6-of-11 from 3-point range in her highest-scoring game of the season. It was the 24th 30-point performance of her regular-season career and the 12th game in which she has scored at least 30 points with five made 3-pointers, which ranks second all-time in WNBA history.

The eighth-year guard, who has worked back from injury, scored 10 points in the first quarter and another 10 in the third to keep Dallas within reach before the closing run.

“Obviously, we’re a lot better than last year as a team. We’re finding the open player, all of us,” Ogunbowale said. “We’re playing through Shep, playing through Paige, getting everybody involved. So it’s been looking good, especially with the wins.”

Head coach Jose Fernandez said Ogunbowale’s shot-making was the product of staying with her work through earlier shooting struggles.

“When you’re not shooting the ball well and the ball isn’t going in, you’re evaluating the types of shots you’re taking and the types of opportunities you’re getting. You’re watching film and continuing to work so you can see the ball go through the basket. Arike has done that,” Fernandez said. “It was great to see the ball go in today. But we’ve talked about this all season: if the ball isn’t going in, there are so many other ways you can impact the game, defending, rebounding, sharing the basketball.”

Paige Bueckers Ties Franchise Assist Record

Bueckers recorded her first double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 14 assists, adding 3 rebounds and 1 steal in 36 minutes. Her 14 assists tied Ogunbowale for the most in a single game in Wings history and matched the Atlanta Dream’s Jordin Canada for the most assists in a game by any player this season.

Bueckers dished out 9 of her 14 assists in the first half, the most in a half in her career, and tied her personal best with 6 assists in the first quarter.

“My teammates did a really good job of getting people open, setting screens, cutting, moving without the ball, and making the game easy for me,” Bueckers said. “They made the reads I needed to make really simple. They also hit some really tough shots. I’m honored. Assists are really about giving to your teammates, so that’s probably the best accomplishment you can get.”

Ogunbowale, who had held the record on her own, welcomed the company.

“I think that’s dope. Paige is one-of-one,” Ogunbowale said. “Honestly, she could’ve gotten it. We had a lot of missed layups off her passes. But yeah, I think she’ll break it pretty soon.”

Fernandez, who has moved Bueckers primarily to point guard, said her decision-making has anchored the offense.

“Paige is such a great decision-maker. We talk about three or four things we want to get to during timeouts, and she has a really good feel for pick-and-roll coverages, whether it’s in the middle of the floor, on the slot, or on the side,” Fernandez said. “Down the stretch, I have total trust in her putting us into the right actions and getting us to the right spots.”

Jessica Shepard, Maddy Siegrist Round Out Balanced Attack

Shepard notched her sixth double-double of the season with 22 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in 37 minutes. Her 22 points tied a season and career best. She now has three career games with at least 20 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists, third-most all-time in WNBA history and tying Tamika Catchings.

Siegrist finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds, a career-high 4 steals, and 1 block. The game marked just the ninth time in Wings history that four players scored at least 16 points, and the first since September 6, 2024. Azzi Fudd rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

The 30 assists on 41 made field goals reflected the ball movement Fernandez has emphasized since training camp.

“It’s great to see. We talk about it all the time, it’s not about anyone individually in that locker room. It’s about us,” Fernandez said. “If we continue to share the basketball and generate good shots, the offensive results are going to be there. But we still have to continue working on our defensive connectivity.”

Dallas Wings Pass Frontcourt Test Against Nneka Ogwumike, Dearica Hamby

Dallas entered the night carrying the WNBA’s most efficient offense into a Sparks defense ranked last in the league, but the pre-game focus on the Wings’ side was the matchup with a physical Los Angeles front line. With Alanna Smith healthy but the team without Awak Kuier (right wrist) and Li Yueru (left ankle), Shepard carried a heavier interior load.

“Nneka has been one of the best players in the league for a very long time. And then Dearica is playing at an amazing level since going to LA,” Shepard said ahead of the game. “I think it’s their physicality and their ability to score at all three levels as post players.”

Fernandez had framed the interior as the team’s first defensive priority.

“I think interiorly we have to do a really great job defending their post presence, number one,” Fernandez said.

Dallas held up. Nneka Ogwumike finished with 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, and Dearica Hamby added 15 points, but the Wings owned the glass late and limited Los Angeles to 18 points in the fourth quarter.

How the Dallas Wings Pulled Away

The game featured 18 lead changes and eight ties. Los Angeles led 28-24 after the first quarter, the most points Dallas has allowed in an opening period this season, with Ogunbowale scoring 10 and Bueckers handing out six assists. The Wings answered an early nine-point deficit with a 9-0 run to tie it at 22, with Ogunbowale scoring five on the stretch and Alanna Smith adding four.

Dallas trailed 55-54 at the half despite 17 points from Ogunbowale and 14 from Shepard, and the third quarter stayed tight, with the Wings carrying a 78-77 edge into the fourth after Ogunbowale scored 10 in the period.

The fourth quarter belonged to Dallas. After a 7-0 run pushed the lead to 92-84, Siegrist answered every Sparks push, hitting two 3-pointers and a fast-break layup, and the Wings closed on a 7-1 run for the 104-96 final. Shepard scored five of Dallas’s first eight points of the quarter, and Siegrist poured in 10 of her 16 after halftime.

“We talked about the fourth quarter being our quarter and making sure every possession we got what we wanted offensively,” Fernandez said. “There were some big plays in that fourth quarter, big deflections and big rebounds. It was a total team effort today.”

Shepard credited the defense, pointing to Aziaha James for her work guarding Kelsey Plum.

“I think it was our aggression. Za had some huge minutes for us guarding KP, and I think that really helped flip the momentum,” Shepard said. “So it was about playing team defense and then finishing possessions with rebounds at the end.”

Kelsey Plum Leads Sparks In Defeat

Plum led Los Angeles with 27 points and 6 assists, and Ariel Atkins added 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. The Sparks shot 53.7% (36-of-67) for the game but managed just 18 points in the fourth quarter.

Fernandez said containing Plum remains a work in progress.

“Kelsey Plum is just so hard to guard because she gets downhill, gets to her spots, and creates space,” Fernandez said. “We have to continue improving one-on-one defensively and understanding where our help needs to come from once the ball gets by us.”

Bueckers, who has built a rivalry with Plum, kept the focus on mutual respect.

“Me and KP have always had really good matchups. Every time we match up against each other, we’re just competitors. When we go at each other, we both want to win,” Bueckers said. “So it’s nothing but love and respect for KP.”

Bueckers also reflected on returning to an arena where she scored a career-high 44 points last season.

“LA and this arena specifically have so much history. It’s a legendary building. It’s an honor to play here,” Bueckers said. “I grew up dreaming about and watching games here. I was a huge Kobe fan.”

Odyssey Sims, Aziaha James Exit With Injuries

The win came at a cost in the backcourt. Odyssey Sims suffered a left ankle injury in the second quarter and was taken off the court in a wheelchair before being ruled out for the remainder of the game. James, who drew the assignment on Plum down the stretch, sustained a leg injury in the fourth quarter and was helped to the sideline.

The exits left Dallas short-handed and forced Fernandez to tighten his rotation to close out the win.

“With [Odyssey] going down and Aziaha going down, your team becomes limited with substitutions. Everybody shared the load,” Fernandez said.

The Wings were already without Awak Kuier (right wrist) and Li Yueru (left ankle), leaving the available roster a question heading into a heavy stretch.

“Everybody in that locker room is vital right now because we don’t know exactly who we’re going to have available next week when we head to Minnesota,” Fernandez said.

What’s Next

Dallas improved to 2-0 in Commissioner’s Cup play. With the win, the Wings’ Commissioner’s Cup beneficiary, Young Leaders, Strong City, will receive $3,000, bringing its total to $6,000.

Fernandez said the team’s start has validated its locker room.

“I don’t think many people around the league, or around the country, thought we’d be 7-3 right now. But I can tell you one thing: the locker room believed it, I believed it, and our staff believed it,” Fernandez said. “Now it’s quick preparation because we’ve got five games in nine days.”

The Wings and Sparks meet again Sunday, July 19 at 12 p.m. CT in Texas, the second of three regular-season meetings. Next up for Dallas is a road game against the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00 p.m. CT. The game airs locally on KFAA and streams on WNBA League Pass.

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