‘They Expose You’: Minnesota Lynx’s First-Half Barrage Sinks Dallas Wings In 100-76 Road Loss

MINNEAPOLIS — The Dallas Wings never recovered from a cold-shooting start and a scorching one from the host, falling to the Minnesota Lynx 100-76 on Tuesday night at Target Center.

The loss snapped the Wings’ winning streak at four games and dropped Dallas to 7-4 on the season and 2-1 in Commissioner’s Cup play. Minnesota improved to a WNBA-best 10-2, including 4-0 in Commissioner’s Cup games.

Paige Bueckers led a trio of Wings in double figures with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Arike Ogunbowale added 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep, with 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. In her first game back in Minnesota since signing with Dallas this offseason, former Lynx forward Jessica Shepard finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Minnesota shot 71.9% (23-of-32) from the field in the first half to build a 27-point lead that proved too much for the Wings to overcome, even as Dallas trimmed the deficit to 12 in the second half. The Lynx won the rebounding battle 41-31 and outscored Dallas in the paint 46-26. The Wings held the edge in second-chance points (11-4) and fast-break points (16-14). Dallas shot 37.7% (29-of-77) for the game to Minnesota’s 53.5% (38-of-71) and committed 13 turnovers that the Lynx turned into 19 points.

Olivia Miles scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding 7 rebounds and 6 assists to pace one of four Lynx in double figures. Kayla McBride scored 22 on 4-of-6 from three, Natasha Howard posted 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, and Courtney Williams chipped in 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Minnesota Lynx Bury Dallas Wings in the First Half

Dallas opened with a lineup of Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Ogunbowale, Maddy Siegrist, and Shepard, playing without Awak Kuier (right wrist) and Odyssey Sims (left ankle). Minnesota needed no time to find its range, hitting 4-of-5 from three and 13-of-19 overall in the opening quarter while Dallas managed just 6-of-18 from the floor.

Ogunbowale kept the Wings within range with 10 first-quarter points on 2-of-3 from deep and 4-of-4 at the line, but the Lynx still carried a 30-18 edge into the second.

The margin only grew from there. Aziaha James scored the Wings’ first 5 points of the second quarter before Minnesota ripped off a 16-3 run to stretch its lead to as many as 27 at 56-29 inside the final minute of the half. Bueckers softened the blow with three 3-pointers in the closing 45 seconds to trim the deficit to 20 at the break, 58-38.

Minnesota’s 71.9% first-half shooting (23-of-32) was the fifth-highest mark by a Wings opponent in team history, and its 58 points were the most Dallas has allowed in a half this season. Bueckers led all scorers with 13 at intermission, with Ogunbowale adding 12.

Dallas Wings Trim the Deficit, but Can’t Break Through

Dallas came out of the locker room with its best stretch of the night, opening the third quarter on a 12-4 run to pull within 12 at 64-52. Fudd supplied 6 of those points on a pair of triples. The Wings drew within 12 again at 68-56 with 3:27 left in the period, but each push was met with a Minnesota answer, and the Lynx restored a 15-point lead by the end of the frame.

The quarter also delivered a milestone, as Shepard’s basket at the 3:57 mark gave her 1,000 points for her career, a mark she reached in 136 games.

The Wings never seriously threatened in the fourth, getting no closer than 15. Costanza Verona and JJ Quinerly saw their first regular-season action of the year, with Verona going 2-of-2 from the field for 4 points. Dallas’ bench outscored the Lynx reserves 10-7 down the stretch, and James added 4 points in the period to finish with 9.

Jose Fernandez Credits Fight, Points To A Hot Lynx Night

Jose Fernandez pointed to Minnesota’s shooting as the difference, with the Lynx connecting at a high clip in the first half while Dallas misfired and managed only two offensive rebounds before the break.

“They had a substantial advantage in a lot of areas,” Fernandez said. “Some of those baskets came from defensive breakdowns, but they also just had a really, really good shooting night. At the same time, we were shooting in the mid-30s and only had two offensive rebounds at halftime despite the number of shots we missed.”

Fernandez said the Wings set a halftime goal of climbing back within single digits, and he saw enough resolve to believe it was within reach.

“Our goal was to get into the fourth quarter with the game in single digits if possible. I thought we showed some fight,” Fernandez said. “We got it down to 12 and they called a timeout. Then Kayla McBride got us on a backdoor cut. We got it down to 11 or 12 three different times.”

A defensive stretch midway through pulled Dallas closer, but the offense could not capitalize.

“There was also a stretch where we got five straight defensive stops, but came up empty offensively on all five possessions,” Fernandez said. “That was a point where the game could have turned in a positive direction for us.”

Fernandez credited Minnesota’s defense for keeping the Wings out of rhythm and said Dallas must sharpen its screening to create cleaner looks.

“They do a really good job of keeping the ball in front of them, and they’re very aggressive guarding screens,” Fernandez said. “We have to do a much better job setting screens. We need to be more patient with our timing, wait for the action to develop, and come off screens harder.”

The Lynx also solved every coverage Dallas tried in the pick-and-roll.

“Minnesota is a very good team, and they’re very good at what they do. They expose you regardless of the coverage you’re using, whether you’re icing, hard hedging, playing up to touch, or trapping,” Fernandez said. “We tried different coverages throughout the game, but they made very good reads. They consistently found the right option, and we were late on our rotations.”

Paige Bueckers Calls For Better Defensive Connectivity

Bueckers traced Minnesota’s edge in the paint to the Lynx’s ball-screen actions and the threats they generated on the short roll.

“I think their ball-screen actions. They do a really good job of setting them up and having threats in the short roll and around the basket, whether it’s Olivia, Courtney, or Kayla,” Bueckers said. “We have to do a better job of packing the paint, making them spray the ball out, and forcing contested threes.”

She said the answer comes down to playing as a single unit on defense.

“We also have to make second efforts, fly around, scramble, and help each other out. The low man has to be over, and we have to move as one unit defensively,” Bueckers said. “It comes down to having more connectivity on that end of the floor.”

Bueckers Takes Accountability, Eyes Quick Response

Bueckers did not shy away from her own night, pointing to her decision-making as an area she has to clean up.

“I struggled with my decision-making tonight. I felt like I was over-penetrating at times or overthinking simple reads,” Bueckers said. “I need to be quicker, more assertive, more aggressive, and do a better job of getting us into the paint.”

Asked about containing Miles, Bueckers said the Wings failed to execute the game plan and put the responsibility on the players.

“When you’re guarding her, the main focus is keeping her out of the paint and keeping her on one side of the floor. We didn’t do that tonight,” Bueckers said. “We weren’t disciplined enough in executing our game plan, our schemes, and our scout. That’s on us as players. We have to be more disciplined, and it starts with me.”

James said the energy was not where it needed to be and that the Wings cannot let missed shots bleed into the rest of their game.

“We just have to pick up our pace. Our energy was down today,” James said. “Shots weren’t falling, but we can’t let missed shots dictate how we play the game. We have to get back on defense and continue working our way toward the next game.”

With another game in less than 48 hours, Bueckers said the quick turnaround is a chance to respond.

“Tonight happened, but you can’t let it become a habit or something that carries over from game to game,” Bueckers said. “We’ll take this one in, learn from it, grow from it, watch the film, and digest everything. But we also know we have an opportunity to respond on Thursday and be better.”

Up Next

The Wings return home to host the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday at College Park Center. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT, with the game streaming on Prime. It is the first meeting of the season between Dallas and Phoenix.

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