“We Want to Win”: Dallas Wings Snap Skid with First Home Victory Behind Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale
The Dallas Wings finally broke through at home. Paige Bueckers scored 20 points, Arike Ogunbowale added 19 points, six assists, and three steals, and the Wings earned their first home win of the season, beating the Golden State Valkyries 80–71 on Tuesday night at College Park Center.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Bueckers said. “It felt good. Our last one was during the preseason game. But we stayed the course. Our last game really hurt because we had the lead for the majority of the game and it came down to it in the fourth quarter. So I think this was a growing moment for us. We stuck together, we got stops when it mattered, and I think that’s what got us this win—our stops.”
The Wings (2–11) had lost seven straight entering the night and hadn’t won since beating Connecticut on May 27. With Tuesday’s result, they finally found the formula for a complete performance down the stretch, closing the game on a 10–1 run.
“Our fight,” Ogunbowale told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “I mean, they made their runs and we responded. You know, we didn’t let ’em just keep going, keep going. And then our defense—even when we weren’t kind of scoring, we were getting stops and we were holding good defense. So it was just all-around a team effort.”
Li Yueru Debuts, Kaila Charles Returns
It was also the Wings debut for 6-foot-7 center Li Yueru, who was acquired in a trade from the Seattle Storm on Saturday. Though her stat line was modest, she made an impression on both ends and was met with loud applause after forcing a jump ball late in the game.
“I feel I’m so lucky—first game, first win,” Yueru DallasHoopsJournal.com. “I hope we can keep getting better. I feel like we still have things to figure out, like the mid-post and some other areas. But I’m still happy. I’m happy to be here.”
Yueru added that assistant coaches Camille Smith and Nola Henry, who worked with her on the Los Angeles Sparks in 2024, have helped ease her transition.
“Nola, Camille—we know a lot in Sparks and in our careers. So they have helped me a lot,” Yueru explained. “They know how to teach me, and they know how to talk with me. Maybe you can see—every time when I go to the bench, they will talk something to me, good things or something I need to figure out. I appreciate that, and I hope I can get better.”
Koclanes praised her immediate energy and effort: “She brought us really good energy, and I thought we missed her a bunch down low—just, she works. She has great size and great presence, and then she can get down and really keep people in front. The crowd is enjoying her just with how hard she plays and kind of has a joy and a lightness about her as well.”
Kaila Charles also rejoined the team on a hardship contract and finished with 10 points and three steals in 19 minutes. She had been waived over the weekend before being brought back.
“Just an incredible response,” Koclanes said. “To be able to live through the last 72 hours that she did and still come out here and have the impact that she had—that’s the ultimate pro. You see it: she’s versatile. She was guarding fours, she’s guarding point guards, she guarded everybody. And then her tenacity to the boards—getting us extra possessions all the time. That effort and energy is just contagious.”
Ogunbowale added to DallasHoopsJournal.com: “KC—getting waived, coming back two days [later], and being a huge piece. That just shows how professional everybody was today and, you know, everybody was ready when their number was called.”
Lineup Shifts, Professional Responses
The Wings made a change to the starting lineup, inserting Aziaha James in the backcourt and bringing DiJonai Carrington off the bench for the first time this season. James finished with six points and two assists in 18 minutes, while Carrington added six points and five rebounds in 21 minutes.
“[DiJonai] came in and still did what she needed to do. She was very professional about it—regardless of whatever the coach decided, she did what she had to do,” Ogunbowale told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Aziaha—she was confident. She was shooting her shots, the shots that were open, she was making the right plays. I think everybody responded really professionally, and that’s what we need.”
The Wings have dealt with lineup instability throughout the season due to injuries and hardship contracts, including several in-season signings and returning players. Ogunbowale praised the team for handling the frequent role changes under a new coaching staff with maturity.
“We’re still a new team. New coaches. And we still have to give grace to everybody, regardless,” Ogunbowale explained to DallasHoopsJournal.com. “We’re all competitors at the end of the day—so yes, of course we’re upset about things and this and that—but at the end of the day, we’re a team. It’s a long season, and whether it’s right or wrong, we have to be right or wrong together. I think today showed that.”
Defense and Rebounding Seal the Deal
Golden State was limited to 16 first-quarter points—the fewest the Wings have allowed in any opening frame this season—and managed just one point in the final five minutes.
“I think we did a really good job of applying what we learned from the last game,” Bueckers said. “I think we had four fouls with like six minutes to go, and we did a good job of keeping ’em out of the bonus and limiting their foul attempts. I still think we can do a better job rebounding—that’s me, that’s everybody. But just in terms of our discipline… we weren’t scoring, so we needed to get stops and just relied on our defense to take us home.”
The Wings controlled the interior with 14 offensive rebounds, leading to 17 second-chance points and a 15-shot advantage in total attempts. Their activity on the glass helped offset stretches of cold shooting and kept pressure on the Valkyries’ defense throughout the game.
“Anytime you can… we took 15 more shots than them. Fourteen offensive rebounds—Kyla and Didi with four apiece,” Koclanes told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “That’s a part of our identity. We talk about it. We teach it. We emphasize it. As we continue to search and become more efficient, right now we need those second chances.”
Ogunbowale emphasized the point: “Everybody just tried to get after it. We knew they were a really, really good rebounding team, so we made that a point.”
Building Chemistry and Moving Forward
Ogunbowale and Bueckers combined for 39 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, as they found rhythm as a backcourt duo. Bueckers consistently created separation in mid-range, while Ogunbowale orchestrated in late-clock situations and iced the game with a transition layup in the final seconds. Their growing chemistry gave the Wings needed balance on a night when the team shot just 39.5% from the field.
“I’m always going to look for her,” Ogunbowale told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “Super confident. I think the team does better when the ball’s in her hands, so just trying to get her the ball, have her set up the offense, and then do what I can—off the ball, sometimes on the ball, trying to find her, her find me. Just kind of try to still build that chemistry. And I think it’s still coming day by day, but today it looked pretty good.”
Yueru echoed that she felt at ease playing with them: “They are the best players, and I know they can do everything. I just try to do easy things like post up or screen for them. We will get a good game. My friends love them more than me—but I’m happy, I’m glad for them. They had a really big game.”
Asked how the Wings will carry the momentum forward, Ogunbowale told DallasHoopsJournal.com: “We can’t take any steps back. We know we can win—even in tough games, close games, toward the end of the stretch. Just playing together—giving assists, making the extra pass. I think we’ll be good.”
Her main focus for improvement as a collective? “Pick-and-roll defense.”
For Koclanes, the game marked a step toward establishing the identity he’s been pushing for — one built on effort, physicality, and defensive resilience, especially in late-game situations where the team has struggled.
“We’ve gotta learn to win,” Koclanes emphasized. “Tough game in Vegas down the stretch, and I think you saw a different tenacity the last five minutes to really go and get it. Again, it wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t perfect, but we went and we took it.”
The Wings seek to carry that momentum right into Friday’s road showdown against Connecticut. Tip-off at Mohegan Sun Arena is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on KFAA 29 in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
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