Dallas Wings snap losing streak, pick up badly needed win over Toronto Tempo
· Yahoo Sports
ARLINGTON — The Dallas Wings needed Wednesday night’s 94-88 win over the Toronto Tempo — not just because of what it meant for this season, but the trajectory of the franchise.
Their victory at College Park Center snapped a three-game losing streak that magnified the team’s post All-Star break struggles and also marked the Wings’ 20th win of the season.
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That’s double the amount of wins Dallas managed in 2025, when the team finished 10–34, and the second-most wins the organization has achieved since it relocated to North Texas ahead of the 2016 season. It's a bachievement for the franchise, which ranks top-eight in the WNBA standings and would make the playoffs if they started today.
The Wings (20–14) beat the Tempo (10–23) for the second time this season, limiting one of the league’s top three-point shooters in Marina Mabrey to 3 of 9 from behind the arc and forcing 16 turnovers. Veteran forward Alanna Smith posted her second double-double of the season, recording 13 points and 11 rebounds.
But the Wings have a lot to work out as they make a playoff push. Two starters — rookie Azzi Fudd and All-Star forward Jessica Shepard — sat out with injuries Wednesday. Fudd, nursing a right knee injury, missed her third consecutive game and Shepard missed her first full game after injuring her right ankle in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx.
Second-year guard Aziaha James left Wednesday’s game with injury early in the fourth quarter.
Paige Bueckers, averaging 20.1 points and 5.8 assists this season, recorded 22 points, 8 assists and 3 steals against the Tempo and was perfect from the free throw line. But she struggled to find her shot, finishing 7 of 18 from the floor. In general, Bueckers has not been playing quite like she did prior to the All-Star break.
Arike Ogunbowale and Odyssey Sims didn’t have much better shooting nights, though they hit big shots in the first half. With Fudd, a three-point shooting threat, and double-double machine Shepard out, the Wings missed key parts of their offense.
But even before their injuries, it was clear the Wings had stalled after the All-Star break — and more notably, couldn’t hang with the league’s top teams. Before Wednesday, they went 1-5 out of the break, losing to teams that would all qualify for the postseason if it started today.
And that gauntlet continues Friday on the road against the Indiana Fever, a playoff team the Wings beat in May. The Wings look to have that same outcome against the Fever this time around and return to where they were earlier this season.
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