DHJ Quick Take: Wings Survive Storm in Overtime as Bueckers, Fudd Shine
The Dallas Wings beat the Seattle Storm 112-110 in overtime on June 22, 2026, behind Azzi Fudd‘s career-high 26 points and Paige Bueckers‘ 27, which pushed her past 1,000 career points. Dallas set a WNBA single-game record with 48 made field goals and improved to 11-6.
- How did Dallas pull it out? Fudd scored the go-ahead basket with 13.2 seconds left in overtime after Seattle had grabbed a 110-109 lead.
- What did Paige Bueckers achieve? She reached 1,000 career points in 52 games, the fourth-fastest in WNBA history, and became the fastest player ever to 1,000 points and 250 assists.
- Why was the night historic? Dallas’ 48 made field goals set a WNBA single-game record, and its 16 overtime points were the most in any single overtime in franchise history.
- Who else stood out? Aziaha James added 18 points and a career-high-tying 6 assists off the bench, while Dominique Malonga led all scorers with 37 for Seattle.
SEATTLE — Azzi Fudd scored a career-high 26 points and hit the go-ahead basket in the final 15 seconds, and Paige Bueckers climbed past 1,000 for her career, as the Dallas Wings outlasted the Seattle Storm 112-110 in overtime Monday at Climate Pledge Arena.
The Wings (11-6) closed a road back-to-back with their second straight win in the final minute and have now taken three of their last four. Their 48 made field goals set a WNBA single-game record, edging the 47 the Phoenix Mercury made in 2010. Dallas needed nearly all of them. Seattle (3-15) led 110-109 with 25.5 seconds left in overtime before Fudd answered to put Dallas back in front for good.
For a night that produced a franchise scoring record and a pair of milestones, the Wings were quick to admit it was not clean.
“Obviously these two games were about sticking together,” Fudd said. “We grinded it out. Like I said, it wasn’t our prettiest basketball, but we found a way to win both games. Defensively and offensively, when it mattered, we figured it out.”
Paige Bueckers Reaches 1,000 Points
Bueckers finished with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, and saved most of it for last. She scored 17 of her points across the fourth quarter and overtime, including the bucket that tied the game with 5.6 seconds left in regulation and forced the extra period.
The night carried her past 1,000 career points in her 52nd game, the fourth-fastest in WNBA history. She tied Elena Delle Donne for the mark and finished one game behind teammate Arike Ogunbowale, who reached the milestone in 51. Bueckers also became the fastest player in league history to reach 1,000 points and 250 assists.
Aziaha James, who logged a career night of her own off the bench, pointed to Bueckers as the steadying force the Wings lean on in tight finishes.
“She’s one of our captains here,” James said. “She always takes us there every game, like we saw last game. She’s always ready. That’s for us to look up to and she pushes the tempo every time, so that’s what we’ve got to follow.”
Fernandez said Bueckers manufactured offense Seattle could not account for down the stretch.
“She had one-on-one situations off pick-and-roll and also flat ball screens,” Fernandez said.
He returned to her late in his availability, after walking through a closing stretch that asked individual players to bail out a group effort that had gone flat.
“This league is very, very good,” Fernandez said. “When you don’t play well collectively, sometimes you need individual plays. Paige did that with those two threes and some incredible individual plays. That’s why she is who she is.”
Azzi Fudd Posts a Career-High
Fudd shot 11-of-17 from the field, added 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals, and scored 11 of her 26 in a third quarter that pulled Dallas back into the game. She credited the looks more than anything she forced.
“Just being aggressive and reading what the defense was giving me,” Fudd said. “My teammates were playing incredibly well, making it easy for me, spacing the floor, giving me great passes and giving me good looks as well.”
Her biggest shot came last. After Seattle grabbed a 110-109 lead with 25.5 seconds left, Fudd scored with 13.2 seconds remaining to put Dallas ahead 111-110. Jessica Shepard then forced a turnover on Dominique Malonga on the next possession, Seattle fouled James, and the Wings closed it out at the line.
Fernandez singled out Fudd’s two-way night.
“I thought Azzi also had a great night with the way she played and defended,” Fernandez said.
The Dallas Wings Squander a 13-Point Lead, Then Recover
Dallas built its largest cushion in the second quarter, pushing an 8-0 run into a 36-23 lead. Seattle answered with 14 unanswered points to flip it, and the Storm carried a 42-40 edge into halftime on a Malonga 3-pointer in the closing seconds. Fudd said the team understood the margin never made them safe.
“They’re a really good team,” Fudd said. “No matter if it’s a two-point lead or a 13-point lead, we can’t ever settle. We can’t ever take our foot off the gas. Going into the next half, we knew we had to come out, play Wings basketball, be the aggressors and keep playing together.”
Fernandez traced the swing to that second-quarter run and the energy Seattle drew from it.
“I thought the turning point was in that second quarter where we’re up 13 and they went on that 8-0 run,” Fernandez said. “I thought we gave them life. Give a lot of credit to Noelle and their team. They’ve been struggling, but I thought they were really, really good. They were connected, they played hard, and they played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. They made shots.”
The Wings did not steady themselves until the bench took over.
“For us, I thought we had some people really step up,” Fernandez said. “Our second unit in that third quarter, at the end of the third and early fourth, that’s how we got back into the game.”
He was blunt about the group that dug the hole.
“Our starters came out at halftime and we just weren’t very good,” Fernandez said. “It wasn’t until that second group came in and gave us energy that we started to turn things around.”
A Bench Spark From Aziaha James and Li Yueru
James matched the moment, finishing with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and a career-high-tying 6 assists. She scored the first basket of overtime, tied it again at 100 with 3:32 left, and made the closing free throw that put Dallas up two in the final seconds.
“I thought she got it done,” Fernandez said. “She made good decisions. She got to the basket. She got some deflections and got her hands on some things.”
Li Yueru provided the other lift, scoring a season-high 10 points and burying a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Dallas a 67-66 lead after three quarters. Fernandez grouped both reserves among the reasons the Wings clawed back.
“Aziaha James came in and gave us some really, really good minutes defensively and on the offensive end,” Fernandez said. “Li Yueru and her presence as well.”
His larger message was about the standard the last two finishes set.
“That’s what I told them: the last two games have shown that in this league, you’ve got to bring it every night,” Fernandez said. “We’re not sneaking up on anybody anymore. The Dallas Wings aren’t sneaking up on anybody anymore. We’re going to get everybody’s best punch night in and night out, and that’s what our locker room has to understand.”
Containing Seattle Storm’s Frontcourt and Natisha Hiedeman
Malonga led all scorers with 37 points and 12 rebounds, and Natisha Hiedeman ran the Storm offense for 21 points and 11 assists. James described the difficulty of attacking Seattle’s size without surrendering shots at the rim.
“They’re very long,” James said. “It’s hard to attack and not get your shot blocked. They’re so good at attacking themselves. We just have to hold them down, help our bigs out and box out.”
She framed the Hiedeman assignment as a navigation problem first.
“She’s very fast, so getting over screens and trying not to switch is important,” James said. “We’ve got to get over that screen and stop it.”
Fernandez credited the same group on the other end.
“I thought Dominique did a great job picking and popping,” Fernandez said. “We were late on rotations. Even when she was picking and popping, she shot the ball from three really, really well. Malonga was a problem in pick-and-roll situations and on duck-ins.”
He also flagged the spark Seattle got from its bench.
“I thought Zia Cooke was very good for them as well, coming off the bench and giving them a spark with the way she played offensively,” Fernandez said.
By the Numbers
Dallas shot 53.9% from the field, hit 9-of-24 from 3-point range, and made 7-of-9 free throws. The Wings recorded 30 assists, the fourth time they have reached the mark this season and the only WNBA team with multiple 30-assist games this year. Dallas scored a season-high 62 points in the paint to Seattle’s 44 and held edges in fast-break points (23-9), bench points (35-20), and second-chance points (12-10). Rebounds finished even at 34 apiece.
Shepard nearly logged another triple-double with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. Awak Kuier added 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and contested the Malonga look at the regulation buzzer that sent the game to overtime.
Seattle shot 50.6% overall, 44.8% from deep, and 19-of-21 at the line. Awa Fam scored 18 points on 4-of-5 3-point shooting with 3 blocks, Zia Cooke added 18 off the bench, and Flau’jae Johnson posted 11 points and 9 assists.
The overtime period set its own marks. Dallas scored 16 points, the most in a single overtime in franchise history, in its first overtime game of the season and its first overtime win since Aug. 6, 2022. The teams combined for 11 of the game’s 19 lead changes in the extra period, with neither side leading by more than two.
What’s Next
The Wings stay on the road and visit the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday. The game airs locally in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on KFAA 29 and nationally on NBA TV, with tip-off slated for 9 p.m. CT.
Dallas and Seattle meet twice more this season, on Aug. 23 at College Park Center and in the regular-season finale at Climate Pledge Arena on Sept. 23.
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- Paige Bueckers Second Overall, Three Dallas Wings In Top 11 Of First WNBA All-Star Fan Voting
