Dallas Wings Surge Past Seattle Behind Bueckers, Ogunbowale

Paige Bueckers (No. 5) of the Dallas Wings, along with strong play from Arike Ogunbowale and Haley Jones (No. 30), led inspired efforts to defeat the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena, 87-63. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)

SEATTLE — A fresh start after the WNBA All-Star break meant a clean slate for the Dallas Wings, and on Tuesday night at Climate Pledge Arena, they made a resounding statement.

With contributions up and down the roster and a second-half offensive surge led by four-time WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and rookie standout Paige Bueckers, the Wings stormed to an 87–63 road win over the Seattle Storm. Arike Ogunbowale tallied a game-high 20 points while Bueckers poured in 14—all but two coming after halftime—to lead a Dallas team that had seven players score at least seven points and shot over 45 percent from the field.

“This is a new half of the season,” Ogunbowale said after the game. “So whatever happened in the first half, you just gotta watch it, obviously take the good from it. But the bad, get rid of that and just start new habits, build new habits. And we’re moving forward. So this was a great team win [for] every single person.”

It was the kind of top-to-bottom performance head coach Chris Koclanes had been craving.

“I’m not sure we started the game with urgency, but we responded with urgency, so that was great to see,” Koclanes said. “It’s not urgency in feeling tight and pressured. What I’m asking for is urgency in each moment, in each possession, in each action of what we’re trying to accomplish. So really trying to get them to focus small and think less and to be able to free up their ability to go play.”

After trailing 20–18 at the end of the first quarter and falling behind 26–20 in the second, the Wings reeled off a 10–0 run fueled by Ogunbowale, Haley Jones and Luisa Geiselsöder, who made her third start of the season. The visitors took a 39–35 lead into halftime and never looked back.

Dallas (7–17) opened the third quarter with renewed energy, ripping off an 8–2 run in the first three minutes and holding the Storm to just one field goal in the first 6:45 of the period. Bueckers found her rhythm with a right-wing triple off a skip pass from Ogunbowale, then carved through Seattle’s defense for a pair of layups that pushed the lead to double digits.

“Yeah, in the first half, they’re just doing a great job of limiting my touches and getting the ball out of my hands with traps,” Bueckers said. “So then just trying to play to the advantages that let my other teammates get open—not force anything, not try to get outside the rhythm of the team just to get some shots. And then the second half, things started to open up a little bit. My teammates were making shots, so they sort of had to relax on me and worry about my teammates.”

Dallas led 63–49 heading into the fourth and started the final frame on a 13–0 burst over four minutes, blowing the game wide open. The Wings outscored Seattle 24–14 in the fourth and 48–28 overall in the second half, with Bueckers scoring 10 of her 14 points during that stretch.

Paige Bueckers credited her teammates for opening lanes and opportunities to attack in the second half against Seattle. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)

“All credit to [my teammates],” Bueckers continued. “Just the way we continue to play team basketball—I don’t think any shots were forced tonight. They were all within the rhythm of the offense. And so not one of us are going to go out of the rhythm and try to hunt our own shots and get our own points and make sure our stats are great. But when we’re playing team basketball like that, things went in the way they’re supposed to.”

Jones finished with 10 points, six assists and two steals off the bench, providing steady facilitation and helping Dallas dominate the assist margin 25–18. Geiselsöder had 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting and knocked down three triples. JJ Quinerly added nine points and three assists in 21 minutes, while Aziah James chipped in seven off the bench.

Li Yueru anchored the interior, grabbing 10 rebounds—three on the offensive glass—and hitting two threes on her way to eight points. The Wings out-rebounded the Storm 48–34 and converted those second chances into 15 points.

For the Storm (14–10), it was another night of searching for answers. Nneka Ogwumike had 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting, and Gabby Williams added 14. But no other Seattle player scored more than 12, and the team shot just 30.7% from the field and 4-of-21 from deep (19%).

“We woke Arike up,” Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said postgame. “A bad shot or not an efficient make and a layup turns into threes for them—wide open threes. And so I think those plays, they take the air out of you. They’re deflating. And we just couldn’t pump ourselves back.”

The Storm committed nine turnovers and allowed 15 points off them. Seattle’s half-court offense looked stagnant for long stretches, especially during the second and fourth quarters. The Storm’s bench also struggled to keep pace, contributing just 12 points on 3-of-22 shooting (13.6%).

“These are questions that we have not answered all season,” Quinn said. “Within that time, when things aren’t going your way, you have to be proficient in something—whether it’s defensively or efficient in offense. And we just were not in either of those things.”

The Wings’ dominance was most apparent in the open floor. Dallas racked up 19 fast-break points to Seattle’s six and scored 34 points in the paint, keeping the Storm on their heels in transition after every stop.

“In the third quarter, when we can get stops and run and you can get out and transition, this team is fun to watch and we can play in the open floor,” Koclanes said.

Arike Ogunbowale (No. 24) of the Dallas Wings was exceptional from downtown against the Seattle Storm. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)

Dallas shot 10-of-23 (43.5%) from beyond the arc—well above its season average—and assisted on 78% of its made baskets. The Wings also recorded a season-high 48 rebounds, with 25 assists marking one of their highest totals this year.

Despite a slow first quarter where Dallas trailed by six early and shot just 33%, the team responded with poise, turning defense into offense and executing half-court sets with patience. Seattle never cut the deficit to single digits after Bueckers’ jumper made it a 63-51 score with 1:18 left in the third frame.

The win snapped a two-game skid for Dallas and marked just its third road victory of the season. Per the Dallas Wings PR, their 24-point victory was the Wings franchise’s third largest margin against the Storm and the most since their 27-point victory on July 17, 2013. Notably, it is only the fifth time that the Wings defeated the Storm by 20 points, but the first since the Wings franchise relocated to Texas in 2016.

The Wings continue their road trip as they head to San Francisco for a Friday night matchup against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center.

Koclanes knows the formula is simple—but not easy.

“I like that we stick to it. We fight, we stay together,” he said. “Now we’ve got to keep building.”

Dallas Wings: By the Numbers

Arike Ogunbowale (No. 24) of the Dallas Wings had a remarkable performance against the Seattle Storm. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)

Seattle Storm: By the Numbers