DHJ Quick Take: Tactical Impact
- Arike’s Timeline: While Arike Ogunbowale has returned from her championship run in China, a right ankle injury prevents her preseason debut. The Wings are prioritizing her health for the May 9 regular-season opener against Caitlin Clark and the Fever.
- The Smith Variable: Alanna Smith is listed as questionable with a left quad injury. Her “gravitational pull” as a stretch-big and defensive versatility contributed to the Wings‘ previous win over Indiana. Her status will impact Dallas’ approach.
- Reinforcements Arrive: In a positive twist, Jessica Shepard and Costanza Verona are off the injury report and set for their Wings debuts. Additionally, JJ Quinerly (knee) and Rayah Marshall (concussion) have been cleared for action.
AUSTIN — The Dallas Wings released their injury report Saturday ahead of Sunday’s preseason finale against the Las Vegas Aces at the Moody Center in Austin. Alanna Smith is listed as questionable with a left quad injury. Arike Ogunbowale is officially out with a right ankle injury after returning to Dallas following her season in China, and Awak Kuier remains out because her season abroad has not concluded.
Two players who missed Thursday’s preseason opener are now off the injury report and set to be available. JJ Quinerly is cleared for her first game action since suffering a left knee injury late last season, which ended her rookie campaign early. Rayah Marshall has cleared concussion protocol.
Notable changes include Jessica Shepard and Costanza Verona, who are also off the injury report after returning from their championship with Beretta Famila Schio in Italy, putting both in line to make their preseason debuts.
Alanna Smith Questionable Is the Headline Concern
Smith was the reigning WNBA Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 with the Minnesota Lynx, where she averaged 9.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.4 steals while shooting 39.7% from 3-point range. She signed a three-year max contract with Dallas in April as the centerpiece of the Wings’ free agency class.
Against the Fever on Thursday, Smith finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds, and a team-high 5 assists in 19 minutes, and the gravitational pull her shooting threat exerted on Indiana’s coverages and her defensive versatility were central to how Dallas pulled off its 36-17 second-quarter run.
Paige Bueckers, a reigning WNBA All-Star, identified Smith as the offensive engine through her ability to screen physically, create separation for ball handlers, and stretch the defense as a 3-point threat herself.
“Alanna does a really good job of screening, hitting bodies, and creating space and separation,” Bueckers told Dallas Hoops Journal after Thursday’s game. “She’s a threat finishing and from the 3-point line, so that helps.”
Grace Berger also pointed to Smith’s defensive impact as a paint protector as the reason Wings guards can pressure the ball aggressively.
“Having someone like Alanna Smith behind you, she’s one of the best in the league, gives guards confidence to pressure the ball more,” Berger told Dallas Hoops Journal. “You can be more aggressive knowing you have that kind of protection behind you.”
If Smith does not play Sunday, her absence will likely create a runway to test different lineup combinations with Shepard. However, the ideal outcome for the Wings would be to have a live competitive environment for Smith and Shepard to build chemistry with Bueckers together.
Arike Ogunbowale Out With Right Ankle Injury
Ogunbowale’s status moves her from a return-from-overseas absence to an injury management designation. The Wings’ all-time leading scorer arrived back in Dallas earlier this week, but the right ankle injury keeps her sidelined for the preseason finale.
A four-time WNBA All-Star, Ogunbowale averaged 15.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists across 29 games for Dallas in 2025 while shooting 36.4% from the field and 30.4% from deep. She also captured a Chinese league championship with the Sichuan Blue Whales before returning stateside. The veteran guard re-signed with Dallas in April for her eighth season with the franchise.
Bueckers, at the Wings’ media day, framed Ogunbowale as a star who has set the tone for the partnership through selflessness and a willingness to embrace a co-lead alongside her.
“Growing up, I watched Arike, she’s one of the best scorers in the league. For her to sacrifice and embrace me coming in as a scorer and playmaker meant a lot,” Bueckers told Dallas Hoops Journal. “We’ve talked a lot this offseason about just wanting to win. The best teams are selfless. For someone at her level to step into a leadership role and use her voice to instill confidence, that’s huge. I’m really excited about building on that.”
Ogunbowale’s status for the May 9 regular-season openera against the Fever remains to be determined. However, she will have time to recover and potentially practice with her teammates.
Jessica Shepard and Costanza Verona Set for Preseason Debuts
Shepard and Verona are not on the injury report, which clears the way for both to make their first appearances in a Wings uniform. Each player recently arrived in Dallas after concluding her season in Italy.
Shepard joins the Wings after a 34-10 campaign with the Lynx in 2025, where she led the WNBA in field goal percentage at 63.8%. Across 10 games without Napheesa Collier, Shepard averaged 11.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, demonstrating her ceiling as a primary frontcourt option when the volume opens up. Her interior finishing and frontcourt depth become especially important Sunday given Smith’s questionable status.
Smith, Shepard’s former Lynx teammate, located Shepard’s value in her basketball IQ, her ability to operate in space, her dual scoring-and-distribution skill set, and a triple-double ceiling that Smith argued teams around the league have undervalued.
“Jess is one of the most underrated players in the league. Her IQ and the way she can play in space is unbelievable,” Smith told Dallas Hoops Journal. “She’s going to bring that to this team, along with the ability to distribute and score for herself. She had a triple-double with Minnesota last year, and I think she can get multiple of those in a season.”
General manager Curt Miller identified Shepard’s offensive versatility, passing skill, rim scoring, and basketball IQ as the specific traits the Wings prioritized when they signed her in free agency, and pointed to her fit alongside Dallas’s young core as a central reason for the move.
“She was a priority for us in free agency because of her versatility offensively. She is a fantastic passer and facilitator, along with being an incredible scorer around the rim,” Miller said. “We were also drawn to her because of her high basketball IQ, which we can’t wait to pair with our exciting young core of players.”
Bueckers framed Shepard’s playmaking as positionally rare for a frontcourt player.
“Jess is one of the best playmakers in the league at the four,” Bueckers said.
Verona’s availability adds a depth piece to the perimeter rotation that has worked through training camp short on bodies. The pair’s debuts come on top of Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu‘s Wings debut Thursday, where she contributed 8 points on 4-for-7 shooting and 3 rebounds in just under 12 minutes.
Awak Kuier Still Out as Overseas Season Continues
Kuier remains out, with the team listing her status as an overseas commitment while she awaits progress on completing immigration requirements. Miller, in his training camp media availability, mentioned Kuier as the lone unresolved variable in the Wings’ overseas-returns picture.
Kuier’s eventual return will add a 6-foot-6 frontcourt piece who led the Euroleague in blocks this past season with Galatasaray, where she also averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks while shooting 59.3% from the field and 40.9% from 3-point range across 24 games.
Head coach Jose Fernandez characterized the absent group as starters-tier pieces whose integration is the gating concern for what the Wings are building.
“We’re missing key players right now who will play big minutes for us, so we’re looking forward to getting them back into the fold and integrated into what we’re building,” Fernandez said.
Of the four overseas players who missed Thursday’s game, two are now available Sunday (Shepard and Verona), one is back at the facility but injured (Ogunbowale), and one is still on the road (Kuier). The roster is largely moving in the direction Fernandez and the team have been waiting for, but it is not yet complete.
The Rotation Sunday Looks Different
Fernandez stated after Thursday’s win that the Wings would lean more on core rotation players on Sunday, with Odyssey Sims among the expected beneficiaries of this plan.
“Odyssey is a veteran, and we’ll likely increase her minutes on Sunday as we tighten the rotation with our top eight or nine,” Fernandez said.
Sims signed with the Wings as the final member of the team’s 22-player training camp roster. As one of the key veterans on the team, she has been leaned on as a mentor for young players on the team. Her skill-set has been often described as a valuable way to take pressure off talents like Bueckers and Ogunbowale. Against the Fever, Sims started next to Bueckers and Fudd on the perimeter and recorded 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists in just under 15 minutes on Thursday.
Aziaha James, who led the Wings in minutes Thursday with 31 and finished plus-19, projects as another player whose role expands as Fernandez settles into a smaller rotation. Maddy Siegrist, after her 18-point, 11-rebound double-double Thursday, is another likely beneficiary.
Fernandez explained the Thursday minutes distribution as a deliberate calibration — protecting the projected starting trio of Bueckers, Smith, and Fudd while giving the rest of the rotation evaluation reps with a comfortable lead in hand.
“I wanted to make sure we distributed minutes well with Azzi, Paige, and Alanna, keeping them under 20, and we did that,” Fernandez said. “It gave a lot of people an opportunity to play with a comfortable lead.”
Last season, Sims joined the Fever midseason and averaged 10.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 26.4 minutes per game in 13 regular-season games played. The 33-year-old guard elevated her game in the postseason while Clark was sidelined, averaging 14.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists across 8 performances.
A Quick Turnaround Before May 9
Sunday is the Wings’ final opportunity to get game reps against an outside opponent before the regular-season opener.
Fernandez laid out a few areas that need improvement after the victory against Indiana, listing defending without fouling and limiting turnovers as areas to fix. He also wanted to see the offense move the ball side to side more often. The numbers showed Dallas committed 22 turnovers against the Fever, sent Indiana to the line 42 times, and gave up 21 points off turnovers.
“This league is too good to just outscore people,” Fernandez said. “You’ve got to get stops and defend without fouling. Even with a quick turnaround, those are things we have to fix before May 9.”
Up Next
The Wings tip off against the Aces at 6 p.m. CT Sunday at the Moody Center in Austin, with national coverage on ION. Dallas opens the regular season May 9 in Indianapolis against the Fever.
More Wings Coverage on Dallas Hoops Journal
- What Dallas Wings Rookie Azzi Fudd Took From Her First WNBA Preseason Game
- Dallas Wings Open Preseason With 95-80 Win Over Indiana Fever Behind Paige Bueckers, Maddy Siegrist Double-Double
- Jose Fernandez Details Indiana Fever Backcourt Test, Dallas Wings Minutes Management
- Stephanie White: Dallas Wings Have ‘A Lot to Be Excited About’ After Pairing Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers
- ‘The Goal Is To Win’: Alanna Smith, Jose Fernandez Preview Dallas Wings’ Preseason Opener At Indiana Fever
- ‘She’s Going To Be Special’: Inside Azzi Fudd’s Early Impression At Dallas Wings Training Camp
- ‘A Dream Come True’: Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd Realize Decade-Long Journey To Dallas Wings Backcourt
