How to Watch Dallas Wings at Minnesota Lynx: Paige Bueckers Nears Rookie Scoring Record in Homecoming on Monday, September 1

Grant AfsethSeptember 1, 2025September 1, 2025no comment

Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings, WNBA, Minnesota Lynx

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

The Dallas Wings travel north to face the Minnesota Lynx on Monday night in the final game of their four-matchup season series. Tipoff at Target Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT, and the game will air locally on KFAA29 and nationally on NBA TV.

Dallas (9–31) continues to weather one of the most challenging stretches of injuries in the WNBA, falling 100–78 at Atlanta on Friday despite a career-high 23 points from Maddy Siegrist and a double-double from rookie guard Paige Bueckers. Minnesota (31–8) enters off a 94–70 victory over the Connecticut Sun, a win that set a franchise record for victories in a single season while securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

How to Watch Dallas Wings vs. Minnesota Lynx

Date: Monday, September 1
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Target Center — Minneapolis, MN
TV: KFAA29 (Local), NBA TV (National)
Live Stats: stats.wnba.com
Social Media Updates: Follow @DallasWings and @DallasWingsPR

Dallas Wings Injury Report

Paige Bueckers: Probable (Left Calf)
Luisa Geiselsöder: Out (Right Shoulder)
Ty Harris: Out (Left Knee)
Aziaha James: Doubtful (Right Ankle)
Haley Jones: Out (Right Knee)
Arike Ogunbowale: Out (Right Knee)
JJ Quinerly: Out (Left Knee)
Li Yueru: Out (Left Knee)

Minnesota Lynx Injury Report

Kayla McBride: Out (Rest)

Shorthanded Wings Run Out of Gas in Atlanta

The Wings entered Friday’s game with only eight active players, three of them hardship signees brought in over the past week. Despite that, Dallas battled toe-to-toe with the playoff-bound Dream for three quarters before running out of energy in a decisive fourth period.

“I think as a group we just ran out of gas a little bit,” Siegrist said after the game. “We had some lapses defensively, and they’re a great team. They’re going to take advantage. They hit some threes on second chances, and you can’t let that happen in the fourth.”

Siegrist was the offensive focal point, finishing with a career-best 23 points while shooting 10-of-17 from the field. Her aggressiveness drew praise from her backcourt teammate. “She’s a matchup nightmare, and she’s consistent. She’s a bucket,” Bueckers said. “That’s what we need from her every night.”

Bueckers, who had missed Wednesday’s loss to Connecticut due to illness, returned to post 16 points and a career-matching 10 assists. She explained the challenge of Atlanta’s balanced attack.

“They have an interior presence—two of the best posts in the league in BG and Bri Jones—and then they have perimeter shooting,” Bueckers said. “It’s hard to double off, it’s hard to congest the paint, especially since we were undersized. That creates kickout threes and rotation threes. They’ve just got weapons at every position.”

Grace Berger pointed to a strong third quarter, when Dallas held Atlanta to just two threes after surrendering seven in the second.

“That was a big focus at halftime,” Berger said. “With players like Rhyne and Allisha, they’re going to hit tough shots, but we wanted to take away the easy ones. We did that in the third but slipped a little in the fourth.”

For head coach Chris Koclanes, the turning point was Atlanta’s 8–0 run to start the final period.

“We fought hard in the third to cut it to four, but their 8-0 run to start the fourth was a punch we couldn’t recover from,” Koclanes said. “Credit to Atlanta for responding. I think we just ran out of gas.”

Lessons From the Last Meeting With Minnesota

The Wings and Lynx last played on June 8 at College Park Center, when Dallas rallied from a 17-point deficit to trail by just one entering the fourth quarter. However, turnovers proved costly in what became an 81–65 defeat.

“Self-inflicted wounds,” Koclanes said after that game. “Turnovers and missed layups lead to tough situations on the other end, and they definitely took advantage.”

Arike Ogunbowale paced Dallas with 26 points and six threes, while Siegrist recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Still, the Wings shot just 29.2% from the floor and committed 17 turnovers, which Minnesota converted into 24 points.

Ogunbowale admitted Minnesota’s second-half pressure made the difference.

“I think they were more aggressive [in the second half],” she said. “They weren’t plugging and sagging off as much. There were still shots I could have hit — they just didn’t go.”

For Dallas, the focus since that meeting has been balancing paint touches with smarter decisions once inside.

“We get the ball to the paint — there’s no denying that,” Koclanes said at the time. “Now our growth area is: are we taking the right shots in the paint? Are we seeing the kicks when we get there?”

The matchup also marked a milestone for Siegrist, who notched her first career double-double.

“We can compete with anybody when we’re doing what we need to do, executing the game plan,” Ogunbowale added. “We just have to get better.”

Paige Bueckers Nears Rookie Scoring Record

With 606 points through 32 games, Bueckers is just 25 points away from breaking Ogunbowale’s Wings rookie scoring record (630 points in 2019). She has scored in double figures in 31 of 32 games and reached the 20-point mark 15 times — tied for seventh most in league history by a rookie.

Koclanes pointed to her adaptability as a key to Dallas staying competitive even while undermanned in Atlanta.

“She took what the defense gave her,” he said. “Atlanta packed the gaps, so she moved the ball and found cutters. She balances her own offense with getting teammates involved. She’s a team player.”

Maddy Siegrist’s Post-Injury Surge

Since returning from a knee injury on Aug. 5, Siegrist has averaged 16.0 points on 56% shooting. Her 23-point performance in Atlanta marked her second 20-point game of the month and showcased how her expanded role is reshaping the offense.

“It starts with Maddy’s energy and motor,” Koclanes said. “She runs the floor, finishes tough passes, creates offense for herself, and is efficient around the rim. We also try to put her in actions to exploit mismatches.”

Amy Okonkwo’s Immediate Impact

Signed to a hardship contract on Aug. 21, Amy Okonkwo has averaged 11.3 points and 2.8 rebounds over her first four games while shooting over 53% from the field. Her ability to stretch defenses has opened space for Dallas’ guards.

“Shooting, first and foremost,” Berger said. “She’s a great shooter, confident, and that opens up driving lanes for her and for the rest of us. Amy’s also brought a lot of energy defensively.”

Christyn Williams’ Debut

Former UConn standout Christyn Williams signed an extreme hardship deal Friday morning and made her WNBA debut that night in Atlanta. She finished with two points and one assist in 14 minutes against the Dream.

“I’m just super excited overall,” Williams said. “This is my first official WNBA game, so I’m super grateful for the opportunity and I’m excited to be able to play with Paige again.”

What’s at Stake

Monday’s game marks the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the Wings and Lynx. Minnesota holds a 3–0 edge this year and leads the all-time series 56–21. For Dallas, it’s another test of resilience in a season defined by adversity, while Minnesota continues to build momentum as the top playoff seed.

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Grant Afseth

Senior Writer

Grant Afseth is a Senior Writer for DallasHoopsJournal.com, where he leads in-depth coverage of the Mavericks, Wings, and more. Between a focus on the latest news, closer looks at games, front office strategy, and more, Afseth provides objective coverage. Afseth contributes broader NBA coverage across platforms and has been cited in national outlets for his reporting and analysis. With nearly a decade of journalism experience, Afseth has covered the NBA and WNBA for multiple major outlets, including Athlon Sports, BallIsLife, Sportskeeda, and RG.org. He previously reported on the Indiana Pacers for CNHI’s Kokomo Tribune and the Mavericks for FanNation.

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