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How to Watch Dallas Wings vs. Golden State Valkyries: Paige Bueckers Nears Rookie Scoring Record on Thursday, September 4

Grant AfsethGrant Afsethno comment
Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings, WNBA
Photo by Thien-An Truong/Getty Images

The Dallas Wings continue their West Coast trip on Thursday night with a matchup against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. CT, and the game will air locally in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on KFAA29.

The Wings (9-32) dropped their last outing, a 96-71 loss at Minnesota, with rookie guard Paige Bueckers scoring 17 points to lead four players in double figures. Golden State (22-18), riding a four-game win streak, edged the New York Liberty 66-58 on Tuesday as Temi Fagbenle finished with 16 points.

This will be the fourth and final meeting between the teams this season. Dallas took the inaugural matchup in June before the Valkyries claimed the last two, including a 90-81 win in Arlington on Aug. 24.

How to Watch Dallas Wings vs. Golden State Valkyries

Date: Thursday, Sept. 4
Time: 9:00 p.m. CT
Location: Chase Center — San Francisco, CA
TV: KFAA29 (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Streaming: WNBA League Pass (available out-of-market)
Live Stats: stats.wnba.com
Social Media Updates: Follow @DallasWings and @DallasWingsPR

Dallas Wings Injury Report

Golden State Valkyries Injury Report

Jones, a Bay Area native and Stanford graduate, was upgraded to questionable after participating in shootaround Thursday morning. In anticipation of her return, Dallas released Serena Sundell from her hardship contract. Hines-Allen, who had been listed as questionable with an illness, has been upgraded to probable.

Last Game vs. Minnesota Lynx: Napheesa Collier, Natisha Hiedeman Too Much

Dallas’ most recent game came on Sept. 1 in Minneapolis, where the league-leading Lynx rolled to a 96-71 win. Napheesa Collier scored 25 points and Natisha Hiedeman added 25 points and 10 assists off the bench, as Minnesota shot 55.4% overall and 58.3% from three.

Bueckers led Dallas with 17 points, moving to sixth on the all-time rookie scoring list with 623 points, one behind Cappie Pondexter.

Bueckers said discipline was key against Minnesota’s balanced attack.

“They’re really disciplined on offense and defense, so making sure we’re disciplined as well,” Bueckers told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Obviously, Napheesa is an MVP candidate, so we have to show attention to her, but they’ve got pieces all around the floor.”

Myisha Hines-Allen credited Minnesota’s execution after Dallas’ strong first half.

“I think we weren’t really good at the point of attack and doing our schemes the correct way, like we discussed,” Hines-Allen told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Credit to them — we knew what they wanted to do. We were just unable, for a whole game, to take away what we wanted to take away, which was their three-point attempts and makes.”

Maddy Siegrist noted the challenge of slowing down Hiedeman once she found rhythm.

“I didn’t guard her a ton, but in different actions when she’s in the screens, you have to be alert,” Siegrist told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “When she gets hot—like tonight—it’s tough. I played against her when she was a senior at Marquette and I was a freshman, and when she’s playing with that much confidence, she’s hard to stop.”

Head coach Chris Koclanes said Collier’s inside-out scoring and Minnesota’s unselfishness stretched Dallas too thin.

“Defensively, it’s inside-out,” Koclanes told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “It starts with Phee. When she gets touches around the rim, she’s as good of a one-on-one scorer as anyone. If you sit home at the arc, she’ll score two by two by two. If you send extra bodies, they’re so unselfish and they shoot almost 40 percent from three as a team.”

Paige Bueckers Nears Franchise Rookie Scoring Record

Bueckers was named WNBA Rookie of the Month for the third straight month in August, becoming the first player in franchise history to achieve the honor. She averaged 20.3 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 49.7% from the field and 93.6% at the line.

She enters Thursday just eight points away from surpassing Ogunbowale’s rookie scoring record of 630 points. She has scored in double figures in 32 of 33 games, including 15 games with 20-plus points.

Last Meeting vs. Golden State Valkyries: Veronica Burton’s Big Night, Paige Bueckers’ Streak Snapped

The last time these teams met, Dallas fell 90-81 to Golden State on Aug. 24 at College Park Center. Former Wing Veronica Burton fueled the win with 25 points, 13 assists, five rebounds, and four blocks — the first 25-10-5-4 stat line in WNBA history.

Bueckers finished with nine points and nine assists, ending her streak of 30 consecutive double-digit games to start her career. The Valkyries buried 16 three-pointers, capitalizing on Dallas’ rotations out of middle ball-screen actions.

Jones said Dallas’ struggles defending the perimeter proved costly.

“A big thing for us coming in was defending the arc, and I don’t think we did that,” Jones told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “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.”

Siegrist emphasized Golden State’s ability to hit back-breaking shots in key moments.

“They were executing their sets and hitting tough shots,” Siegrist told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Those are the ones that break your back — the contested ones in bunches.”

Koclanes said Dallas must be sharper at both the point of attack and in finishing possessions.

“Anytime we had some slippage or were just a half-second late, they exploited us,” Koclanes told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Credit to them for executing better than us on that side of the ball. And then the other piece was the second chances. When we did get some first-shot misses, they were able to get a ton of offensive rebounds and had almost 20 second-chance points.”

Hines-Allen said the attention on Bueckers forces others to step up.

“That’s the next progression of our team,” Hines-Allen told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “We know Paige demands a lot of attention … so it’s on everyone else to step up and be confident. Amy came in and was amazing. If we had kept hitting those open looks throughout the game, it’s a different outcome.”

Handling Aggressive Coverage vs. Paige Bueckers

Opponents have increasingly built entire defensive game plans around trapping Bueckers. Seattle blitzed her on Aug. 22, and Golden State followed suit on Aug. 24, limiting her to nine points while sending multiple defenders her way.

Bueckers said the extra attention opens opportunities for her teammates.

“Just be aggressive. I feel like teams are playing me a little bit more, which leaves my teammates more open — more driving lanes for them, more open opportunities to shoot,” Bueckers told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Especially off the double teams, we can play to those advantages and create opportunities that way.”

Koclanes said Dallas must be more decisive when attacking those traps.

“We’ve got to find ways to still help P get some separation so she can find her own shots,” Koclanes told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “And then you’ve got to be able to exploit them too. If they’re going to throw two and three at the ball, when we get it behind the ball, we’ve got to just improve our decisiveness with our decision-making. If you’re open, shoot it. If not, pass it. But we’ve got to make them pay when we get in those 4v3, 3v2s on the backside of their traps.”

Siegrist echoed that Dallas has to capitalize more consistently.

“We just gotta be able to capitalize a little bit better,” Siegrist told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “I thought we did a much better job not turning the ball over in those situations, but we just gotta be able to hit some more shots and get them out of it a little bit quicker.”

Jones added that the team needs more variety in its counters.

“We could be better,” Jones told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “In the past, we’ve done really well rising out of the short roll, but teams are getting on that. We need a variety of options — maybe not always having Paige come off ball screens, but getting her touches in handoffs and different actions … When the ball sticks and she gets trapped, it’s about what we do next. We need to anticipate it and create more solutions.”

DAllas Wings Embrace Spoiler Mentality

Koclanes emphasized the “nothing to lose” mindset ahead of Thursday’s matchup.

“This is a playoff game for them,” 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.”

Dallas’s focus as the season winds down is on pride and player development. After facing Golden State, the Wings will close their road trip in Los Angeles before finishing the season at home against the Phoenix Mercury.

More Dallas Wings News & WNBA Rumors

Tags :Amy OkonkwoArike OgunbowaleDallas WingsGolden State ValkyriesHaley JonesMaddy SiegristMyisha Hines-AllenPaige BueckersTemi FagbenleVeronica BurtonWNBA

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Grant Afseth

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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