‘We’ve Got to Be Better Defensively’: Dallas Wings Overwhelmed by Las Vegas Aces’ 18 Threes, A’ja Wilson in Loss

For ten minutes, it looked like Dallas had come to the desert ready to swing. For the next thirty, Las Vegas buried them under a historic avalanche of threes. The Aces hit 18 triples — the most ever by a Wings opponent and the second-most in a regular season game in WNBA history — and rode A’ja Wilson’s 34-point, eight-rebound performance to a 106–87 win Sunday afternoon at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

The loss overshadowed a career night from Maddy Siegrist, who poured in 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting with six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Paige Bueckers added 18 points, five boards, and four assists, extending her streak of double-digit games to 28. Aziaha James grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, and Myisha Hines-Allen chipped in nine points off the bench.

Dallas actually outscored Las Vegas in the paint (58–32), second-chance points (20–6), and fast break points (14–3). But the Wings went just 3-of-17 from beyond the arc while the Aces splashed 18-of-34. Chelsea Gray orchestrated the barrage with 14 assists, while Kierstan Bell drilled six threes en route to 18 points. NaLyssa Smith added 14 points, while Jewell Loyd scored 12 off the bench.

A Focus on A’ja Wilson From the Start

Head coach Chris Koclanes laid out the assignment before the game: contain Wilson and prevent her from getting comfortable touches. He knew what was coming. Wilson had been rolling all season, punishing single coverage with an endless mix of mid-post fades, drives, and free throws, and Dallas was without its 6-7 anchor Yueru.

“All five together are post players that are on her,” Koclanes told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “It’s early physicality. It’s everything we do before the catch—can we prevent some catches, can we push catches further away from the hoop? So it’s all of our effort with her one-on-one, whoever that matchup is, and then everybody else having good attention and awareness to her to make her floor really look crowded and challenging.”

Bueckers echoed that pregame. The rookie guard has quickly become one of Dallas’ most reliable voices, and even as she’s been tasked with carrying a heavy offensive load in Arike Ogunbowale’s absence, she spoke first about defense. To her, slowing Wilson was less about any single assignment and more about the Wings’ ability to swarm and stay disciplined.

“You just have to give her MVP attention,” Bueckers explained to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “She draws a lot of bodies, she draws a lot of attention, so it’s gonna be a team effort. She’s extremely hard to guard one-on-one. She gets to her spots extremely well, she gets to the free throw line extremely well. She hits tough ones, but just try to make everything tough.”

Luisa Geiselsöder embraced the challenge of guarding Wilson. The 25-year-old German has quietly grown into a reliable presence for Dallas, but this was a different test altogether — lining up opposite Wilson in Las Vegas, with the scouting report and the spotlight squarely on her. She didn’t shy away from it.

“Yeah, it’s tough, but it’s also fun,” Geiselsöder said to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “It’s a challenge. It’s about making her get tough catches, pushing her out, being physical with her, and not giving her what she wants. It’s hard because she’s in constant movement, and she’s probably the best player in the world. So it’s going to be hard, but I just have to do my best on the court, disturb her, and maybe get in her head if I can.”

That was the plan. Then the ball went up.

Trading Punches Early, Vegas Separates Before Halftime

The Wings opened with Grace Berger, Bueckers, Siegrist, Jones, and Geiselsöder — a smaller, quicker lineup without Ogunbowale and Yueru. They hit first. Siegrist scored nine in the opening 10 minutes on 4-of-5 shooting, including a clean three from the wing. Dallas assisted on eight of its 11 makes, with Geiselsöder dishing three early helpers.

Both teams were hot — Dallas shot 55 percent, Las Vegas 62.5 — and the quarter featured six ties and four lead changes. Wilson and Bell matched Siegrist with nine points each. The Aces nudged ahead, 31–27.

The box score told the story — Wilson had nine in the first quarter and never looked back, controlling the game from her favorite spots on the floor. Siegrist acknowledged that Dallas had executed parts of the plan — being physical, contesting, showing help — but Wilson still got to her spots, still rose above defenders, and still buried shots that most players wouldn’t even attempt.

“She’s an unbelievable player,” Siegrist told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Whether you guard her one-on-one or with two people, she’s gonna consistently shoot over the top. We just have to do a better job limiting her touches. When she catches it on the low or mid-range like that, there’s not much you can do.”

The Aces opened the second on a 10–4 run. Bell splashed another three. Dallas, meanwhile, missed all three of its perimeter attempts in the quarter and suddenly trailed by double digits. Bueckers steadied the offense with seven points in the frame, reaching 11 at the half, while Siegrist and James chipped in to keep the margin manageable. At the break, Dallas trailed 55–44.

James admitted afterward that fouls compounded the problem.

“Putting them on the free-throw line,” James described to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “That really messed us up. And then their threes. We just have to take pride in stopping them, get rebounds, and push the other way.”

The Barrage Begins for Vegas

Dallas actually clamped down out of halftime. The Aces missed their first four shots and went nearly five minutes without a field goal, their first six points all from the stripe. For a moment, the Wings hung around.

Then the storm broke. Bell, Jackie Young, and Gray rained triples in a flurry. Wilson poured in 14 in the quarter, finishing her and-ones with defiance.

Bueckers said afterward what the film will show. The rookie guard has quickly developed a reputation for seeing the game a step ahead, and she was blunt about where things unraveled.

For all of Dallas’ offensive progress — 38 made field goals, 26 assists, efficient scoring inside — the defensive breakdowns kept surfacing in the same places: at the point of attack and on rotations to shooters. She noted that the Aces’ ball movement, sparked by Wilson’s gravity inside, forced Dallas into scramble mode too often, and once Bell and others got comfortable from three, the game tilted.

“At the point of attack, we weren’t good enough,” Jones told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “That led to scrambling. Kierstan Bell went 6-for-7 from three. That’s what she wants to do. We just have to be better in our screen coverages—switching, being up, rather than coming off horizontal. They popped the ball too easily.”

Jones echoed her backcourt mate. The versatile forward has become one of Dallas’ tone-setters with her ability to defend multiple positions, rebound, and initiate offense. But against Las Vegas, she saw the same problems Bueckers did — too many breakdowns at the point of attack that snowballed into clean perimeter looks. Jones acknowledged that Bell’s hot hand wasn’t just about great shooting but about Dallas’ inability to disrupt the rhythm of Vegas’ actions

“The point of attack really matters,” Jones said to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Bell went 6-for-7—we know that’s what she wants to do. We can be better in screen coverages, switching, being up. They moved the ball too easily.”

Geiselsöder had foreshadowed the issue pregame. Long before the first tip, she stressed that Dallas’ ability to hold its ground defensively would come down to individual discipline. If each Wing could stay in front of her matchup, then the defense wouldn’t have to scramble, wouldn’t be forced into late rotations, and wouldn’t give up the kind of clean looks that Vegas ultimately feasted on. It was a clear-eyed diagnosis of the challenge ahead, and in hindsight, exactly where things broke down.

“If we’re all really locked in on our individual defense and not getting beat easily, then we don’t have to get into rotations,” Geiselsöder explained to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “It comes back to one-on-one defense and guarding our yard.”

Instead, the Aces went 7-of-10 from deep in the quarter, outscoring Dallas 26–22 to build an 81–66 cushion.

Fourth Quarter Gets Out of Reach

By the fourth, the outcome felt inevitable. A 7–0 Aces run pushed the margin to 19 at 93–74, and five more Vegas threes closed the book.

James was blunt. For the rookie guard, the story of the night didn’t need much dressing up — it was written from the arc. Dallas had battled in the paint, won on the glass, and matched Vegas in hustle categories, yet every time the Wings looked poised to trim the deficit, another three splashed down. James said it felt demoralizing watching clean looks turn into automatic points.

“Putting them on the free-throw line. That really messed us up. And then their threes.” James told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “We just have to take pride in stopping them, get rebounds, and push the other way.”

James captured the frustration. Bueckers drilled into the specifics. Bueckers was quick to note that the Wings still have to tighten their rotations and stay more disciplined guarding the arc.

“Limiting free throw attempts and limiting threes,” Bueckers explained to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “We did a decent job of keeping them out of the paint, but that was because they got too many threes. We need to keep people in front so we’re not in constant rotations and scrambles. We just have to pay more attention to the three-point line.”

Koclanes emphasized the root cause. Time and again, the Aces were able to collapse Dallas by beating the initial matchup, forcing help, and then spraying the ball out to open shooters. Wilson’s dominance only magnified the problem, demanding double-teams that left the perimeter exposed. The breakdown wasn’t about scheme as much as it was about execution, effort, and pride in guarding one-on-one.

“It all stems from one-on-one defense—can you keep people in front? If you can, the help gets out to the arc,” Koclanes described to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “With A’ja Wilson being so good one-on-one, she draws help, and then there are kick-outs. We’ve got to be better one-on-one. At the point of attack, our ball screen coverage slipped, creating space. We need to be more disruptive in any coverage we’re in. Right now, we’re very one-dimensional defensively. Players are too good to leave anyone on an island.”

Bright Spots for the Dallas Wings Amid the Barrage

The final score hid Dallas’ offensive efficiency. The Wings shot 48.7 percent from the floor, made 38 field goals for the second straight game, and assisted on 26 of them. Only once before in franchise history had Dallas strung together back-to-back games with 38+ makes.

Even without Ogunbowale and Yueru, the Wings produced 38 made field goals for the second straight game, shared the ball, and consistently carved out advantages inside. They were efficient in their actions, deliberate in screening, and opportunistic against switches — hallmarks of the spacing and rhythm Koclanes has been preaching since camp. He stressed that if the team could pair that kind of ball movement with greater defensive identity, the results would begin to tilt their way.

“The offense looked great,” Koclanes told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “We pushed pace, moved the ball side to side, and exploited mismatches. When they were in drops, we screened well and got into the paint. When they switched, we attacked. We didn’t hit from the arc or get to the line enough, but our spacing and ball movement are encouraging.”

Siegrist’s 23 points was a career high, but she wasn’t celebrating. She showcased the kind of all-around game that has made her one of the franchise’s most important young pieces. But as she sat at the podium afterward, her words carried no hint of satisfaction. To her, individual production meant little in the context of a double-digit loss and defensive struggles that defined the afternoon.

“It’s hard to reflect on when you’re losing, so it doesn’t feel that good,” Siegrist admitted to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “I’m just trying to do everything I can to help my teammates. They work really hard to get me open and get me the ball, so I try to reward them. But it doesn’t feel that good today.”

Her teammates, though, beamed. While Siegrist herself downplayed the significance of her career-high in a loss, the Wings around her were quick to celebrate what they’re seeing. For a young team searching for consistency, her reliability on the block and in the midrange is becoming a stabilizing force. Haley Jones lit up when asked about Siegrist’s performance, praising both her relentlessness and her versatility.

“Maddy’s a bucket,” Jones expressed to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Her mid-post game is huge. She can hit the three, but she’s relentless on the boards. She makes tough shots—that fadeaway is hard to guard. She just scores in so many ways.”

Bueckers echoed the sentiment, pointing to Siegrist’s ability to punish mismatches and find points in a variety of ways. She highlighted how Siegrist has grown more comfortable operating in the mid-post, using her footwork and touch to create reliable offense when Dallas needs it most. Beyond just scoring on isolations, Bueckers emphasized how Siegrist runs the floor hard in transition, cuts at the right moments, and thrives on the attention drawn by guards to create easy looks.

“Just her getting to her spots—posting up smaller defenders, shooting over the top, and being opportunistic,” Bueckers told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “She runs in transition and gets easy layups. She’s a workhorse, and the game comes to her. She takes full advantage of that.”

For Jones, the partnership has been seamless. The two young forwards complement each other in ways that make the Dallas frontcourt far more versatile — Jones with her playmaking and defensive instincts, Siegrist with her polished scoring and relentlessness on the glass. Jones said it’s felt natural from the start, the kind of chemistry that doesn’t need to be forced but develops with trust and repetition.

“Maddy and I love playing together,” Jones explained to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “We’re interchangeable but bring different things. It’s great to play with her and attack mismatches in different ways.”

Dallas Wings on Missing Leaders, Growing Voices

Dallas played its third straight game without Ogunbowale and its first without Yueru, leaving gaps in scoring and size. The absence of their former All-Star guard and their 6-foot-7 rim protector forced the Wings to shuffle lineups, redistribute responsibilities, and lean heavily on younger players in expanded roles. Koclanes didn’t make excuses — instead, he emphasized adaptability. For him, the answer wasn’t about who wasn’t available but about the collective approach of those who were. He framed it simply, underscoring a mentality the Wings have been forced to adopt all season.

“Next-woman-up mentality. It’s a group effort—gang rebounding, boxing out, guards helping,” Koclanes said. “Offensively, we still tried to establish an inside-out presence against switches and use mismatches. Regardless of who’s missing, we have to keep playing inside-out.”

Bueckers said the absences have demanded balance.

“Just having different people step up in different ways,” Bueckers told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Nobody can replace Arike, so everybody just has to step up and do a little bit more. It’s really been a team effort to try to make up for her absence.”

Geiselsöder noted it’s been a theme all season. Dallas hasn’t had the luxury of consistency — between injuries, roster churn, and players stepping into new roles, the Wings have been in constant adaptation mode. She said that while the absences are always felt, especially with leaders like Ogunbowale, the group can’t dwell on who’s missing. Instead, they’ve leaned on a next-woman-up mentality, relying on bench voices, huddle energy, and collective effort to keep them moving forward.

“Since the beginning of the season, we’ve been dealing with that,” Geiselsöder detailed to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Players coming in, players leaving, players waived, new players arriving—it’s been about adapting and stepping up all year. We can’t focus too much on who’s missing—we have the players on the court, and we need to figure it out.”

She added a nod to leadership from the sidelines.

“Arike and Ty, they’re helping from the bench, using their voices every huddle,” Geiselsöder added to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “That’s been great for us.”

The Takeaway for the Dallas Wings

Siegrist tried to put the game in perspective. She was Dallas’ most reliable option all game, carving out space in the mid-post, finishing through contact, and flashing the kind of scoring versatility that makes her such a tough cover. But Siegrist’s tone afterward was subdued, her words carrying the weight of a lopsided loss that muted any sense of personal accomplishment. She framed her production not as a milestone, but as part of an effort that still fell short of what the team needed.

“It’s easy to say, ‘We’re young, they’re experienced,’ but we just have to be better all the way around,” Siegrist said. “Looking at a team like Vegas, you want to learn from them and see how they’re successful. As a group, we’re learning. We’re getting a lot of good shots offensively. Now it’s about taking more pride on the defensive end.”

Koclanes agreed. Asked about Siegrist’s night, the coach didn’t hesitate to spotlight her aggressiveness and efficiency as exactly what Dallas needs in the frontcourt.

“I love that she’s being aggressive,” Koclanes explained to DallasHoopsJournal.com. With our spacing, she finds mismatches whether she’s at the three or the four. She’s extremely efficient with that turnaround shot—it’s tough to guard. She gives us an inside presence and a scoring punch. Her energy and leadership are so valuable for our young group.”

With Ogunbowale out and Bueckers drawing constant defensive attention, Siegrist’s willingness to attack mismatches gave the Wings a vital inside-out option. Her footwork, particularly the mid-post turnaround, has become a weapon that forces defenses to adjust. Just as important, her energy and leadership — the way she carried herself in huddles, demanded the ball, and still worked relentlessly on the glass — underscored her growing role in Dallas’ identity.

But Koclanes also zoomed out, reminding that for all the offensive strides, the other end of the floor remains the separating factor against elite teams.

“Offense is coming along—we’re comfortable with our spacing and actions, and we’re sharing the ball,” Koclanes said. “But defensively, we need more consistent effort, execution, and a relentless attitude. Every night we face All-Stars. To compete, we have to fight harder and more consistently.”

What’s Next

Dallas (9-26) heads further west to face the Los Angeles Sparks (16-18) at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday (9 p.m. CT, KFAA29, WNBA League Pass). The Sparks represent another test, but also another chance for the Wings to channel lessons learned against the league’s elite.

As Koclanes put it before tipoff, the game would ultimately come down to defensive execution — staying connected as a unit, guarding the arc, and taking pride in one-on-one matchups.

“We’re looking for improved execution defensively,” Koclanes told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “To be a defensive team, we have to be able to help each other and also get out to guard the arc and guard one-on-one. So we’re looking for better effort in those two areas.”

Sunday in Las Vegas showed just how far that growth still has to go.

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