DHJ Quick Take: Azzi Fudd: Wings’ Comebacks Show ‘What We’re Capable Of’
The Dallas Wings are tied for the WNBA lead in wins after trailing by double digits this season, and their rally from 14 down to beat Connecticut on Thursday marked the second time they’ve overcome a fourth-quarter double-digit deficit, a feat only one other team has matched.
- What’s the number? Dallas is tied for first in the WNBA with four wins this season after trailing by double digits, and is one of only two teams, along with the Atlanta Dream, to erase a fourth-quarter double-digit deficit more than once.
- What happened Thursday? The Wings trailed by as many as 14 points before outscoring Connecticut 51-40 over the final two quarters to win, 86-83.
- What does it say about the team? Azzi Fudd said the pattern is teaching Dallas what it’s capable of heading into the postseason push.
- What does the coach say? Jose Fernandez pointed to shot-making and defensive stops in the second half as the difference across a growing sample of close games.
HARTFORD, Conn. — The Dallas Wings have made a habit of finding out how a game will end before they know how it will start, and they usually find out with Paige Bueckers holding the ball.
Dallas is tied for the WNBA lead with four wins this season after trailing by double digits, and Thursday’s 86-83 comeback win over the Connecticut Sun made it the second time this year the Wings have erased a fourth-quarter double-digit deficit, a feat matched league-wide only by the Atlanta Dream.
The Wings trailed by as many as 14 points before outscoring Connecticut, 51-40, over the final two quarters.
The Closer
No one has driven the pattern more than Bueckers. She ranks third in the WNBA in fourth-quarter scoring this season, averaging 6.5 points per quarter on 60.6% shooting and 47.6% from three, both marks well ahead of her season-long numbers. She ranks fourth league-wide in made field goals in clutch situations, defined as the final five minutes of games within five points, shooting 66.7% from the field and 50% from three in those moments across 11 such games. Dallas is 7-4 when it comes down to the wire with her on the floor.
Thursday tracked the pattern exactly. Bueckers scored 11 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter without missing a shot, including two three-point plays down the stretch.
“Lacan jumped the pass on the inbound, so I was just trying to create something,” Bueckers said of the first one. “Jess made a really good pass, and I obviously felt contact and just kind of threw it up.”
“The second one, my teammates did a really good job of spacing the floor, and I was just trying to be aggressive and hunt the shot,” she said.
Bueckers pointed to a collective confidence rather than any individual switch flipping late.
“We work extremely hard, and we have the utmost confidence in each other,” Bueckers said. “Whenever shots aren’t falling, we know the tide is going to turn.”
Fernandez has stopped being surprised by what she does with the ball in those moments.
“She does things every single day that you’re not surprised by anymore,” Fernandez said. “Some players don’t want the ball in their hands at the end of games or don’t want to take the big shot. She never shies away from the big moment. That’s everything.”
The habit showed up in a bigger way on June 22 in Seattle, when Bueckers scored 17 of her 27 points between the fourth quarter and overtime, closing regulation with eight straight points, including a tying basket with 5.6 seconds left, before capping the night with her 1,000th career point in a 112-110 win.
‘What We’re Capable Of’
Azzi Fudd said falling behind has actually taught the team something valuable about itself.
“Obviously, we don’t want to be down going into the third or fourth quarter,” Fudd said. “But I think these games teach us what we’re capable of. If we can play the way that we did in the second half and fourth quarter for an entire game, we’re a pretty good team.”
She said the experience is building habits Dallas will lean on down the stretch.
“Going into the end of the season, this is really good preparation for us, to be in situations like this, to have to lock in defensively and offensively, get stops, execute and be on the same page,” Fudd said. “I think we’re learning a lot from it.”
Growth Over 20 Games
Fernandez was asked what he had seen change in his team’s composure in close games across the first 20 or so contests of the season.
“The third and fourth quarters were huge,” Fernandez said. “We only finished with 33 made field goals and took just 16 free throws, but the difference offensively was that we made shots in the second half. More importantly, we got the defensive stops down the stretch that we needed.”
The Wings (13-8) visit the Toronto Tempo on Sunday.
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