Dallas Wings Upgrade Haley Jones to Questionable vs. Golden State Valkyries After Knee Injury

Grant AfsethSeptember 4, 2025September 4, 2025no comment

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Dallas Wings forward Haley Jones has been upgraded to questionable for Thursday night’s matchup against the Golden State Valkyries after missing the past two games with a right knee injury.

Jones, a Bay Area native and Stanford graduate, went through a shootaround at Chase Center on Thursday morning. Her availability will be determined later in the day. In anticipation of her return, Dallas released Serena Sundell, who had been signed on a hardship contract amid the team’s injury struggles.

The Wings also received a boost with forward Myisha Hines-Allen being upgraded to probable. She had been listed as questionable while dealing with an illness, but is now expected to be available.

Dallas Wings’ Injury Challenges Continue

Dallas continues to navigate a lengthy injury list. Arike Ogunbowale remains sidelined with a right knee injury without a timetable for a return. Dallas has numerous players sidelined for the remainder of the season, including Tyasha Harris (left knee surgery), JJ Quinerly (left ACL sprain), and Li Yueru (left ACL sprain). Rookie forward Luisa Geiselsöder is out with a right shoulder injury.

The shorthanded Wings (9-32) enter Thursday’s game looking to spoil Golden State’s playoff push. Dallas dropped its most recent contest, a 96-71 road loss at Minnesota on Monday night, while suiting up just eight players.

“This is a playoff game for them,” Wings head coach Chris Koclanes told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “To be able to clinch a postseason berth at home, they’re going to come in all fired up. I just told our group to embrace it and go out there and play spoiler. Again, nothing to lose. Come out here, play together, just play with all-out effort.”

Golden State (22-18), an expansion team in its inaugural season, has won four straight and sits on the verge of clinching a postseason berth. The Valkyries’ most recent win came Tuesday night, a 66-58 victory over the New York Liberty behind 16 points from Temi Fagbenle.

Lessons From the Last Matchup

The matchup will be the fourth meeting of the season between the teams. Dallas won the opener before Golden State took the last two, including a 90-81 road win in Arlington on Aug. 24. In that game, Veronica Burton scored 25 points and dished out 13 assists, while the Valkyries hit 16 three-pointers to pull away.

“A big thing for us coming in was defending the arc, and I don’t think we did that,” Jones told DallasHoopsJournal.com after that loss. “They got up 40 threes and hit 16. With a lot of their middle ball-screen action, it kept putting us into rotations — whether at the point of attack or over-helping on the backside — and it led to a lot of kick-outs.”

Koclanes said Dallas must be sharper in handling those coverages on Thursday.

“Burton had a really big game against us, scoring the ball and also dishing it,” Koclanes told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “So coming out, just focus on her ball screen point of attacks and mixing it up with some different coverages. But more than anything, our effort and energy at the point of attack, and then second chances were really big in that game too. I think they had 20 second-chance points. So we’ve got to finish plays collectively as a unit and gang rebound.”

For Dallas, the final stretch of the season has become more about pride and development than standings. Koclanes has urged his team to adopt a “nothing to lose” mentality while focusing on execution.

“If they end up making more shots, then they do, and you tip your hat,” Koclanes told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “But if we can come out and execute and play really hard, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”

Tipoff at Chase Center is scheduled for 9 p.m. CT, and the game will air locally in Dallas-Fort Worth on KFAA29.

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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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