Look, no one likes starting a season with three straight losses. Your Dallas Wings are no exception.
The Wings’ defense under first-year WNBA head coach Chris Koclanes needs a good bit of work, and the new-look offense has not yet gelled into the well-oiled cohesive unit the team appears to be on paper.
But amid a brutal bit of scheduling wherein the Wings have faced the Minnesota Lynx (3-0), one of the favorites to contend for the WNBA title, twice in their first three games, could the team’s latest loss be an inflection point for Arike Ogunbowale? After shooting just 1-for-11 from 3-point range in the Wings’ first two games, the W’s second-leading scorer from a year ago came out firing bullets in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Ogunbowale made three of her first five from distance in Wednesday’s 85-81 loss to the Lynx at the Target Center. Her first two came as part of a 16-3 first-quarter run that saw Dallas’ early lead swell to as many as 10 points.
The only problem? The Lynx are a well-oiled machine as presently constructed and responded in kind to close out the first quarter. They put the clamps on Dallas’ offensive rhythm and put together a 16-3 run of their own to take a 21-18 lead after one, then methodically inched ahead a little further, 47-40, by halftime.
Ogunbowale is one of only three holdovers from the Wings’ roster a year ago, and it’s going to take some time for this team to establish an identity and realize its full potential on the court. When Lynx defenders stepped out to face-guard Ogunbowale after her hot start from distance, she adjusted, using her speed to blow by her defender on a couple of occasions.
She got into the open floor after a steal from Lynx forward Jessica Shepard and took it coast-to-coast for her first score of the second half, a lay-in that brought the Wings back to within eight, down 56-48 midway through the third. Ogunbowale used her strength in the lane for a tough bucket over Natisha Hiedeman with less than a minute left in the third to give her 15 points at that point.
Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and Ogunbowale’s partner in the Dallas backcourt, fought through extra defenders in her face all night in Minneapolis and was content to make plays for open teammates. Her eighth assist came with about 1:30 left when she found Tyasha Harris open for an open 3-pointer in the corner that brought the Wings to within 65-58.
When these two teams met in the season opener last week, it all fell apart for the Wings in the third quarter. Dallas at least stayed in the fight in the third on Wednesday and trailed 70-62 heading into the fourth. Big 3-pointers from Ogunbowale and DiJonai Carrington brought the Wings to within three, down 76-73 with 3:41 to play. Ogunbowale hit her fifth with just 39 ticks left on the clock to make it 83-81, but the Wings ultimately couldn’t complete the comeback.
This team isn’t there yet. It’s been a rough start to the 2025 campaign. Our own Jack Bonin wondered in his Wings season preview piece whether Dallas would be able to guard anyone this year, and the early returns say no, they cannot. The Lynx found wide open shots along the perimeter and wide open lanes to the bucket far too often in Wednesday’s loss. But maybe, just maybe, Ogunbowale’s hot shooting start and Bueckers’ play down the stretch amid some tough circumstances offer the faintest glimmer of hope for the Wings. Even the Wings’ defense, which was far too leaky for three quarters on Wednesday, improved in the fourth, as Dallas held Minnesota to 15 points down the stretch.
Ogunbowale finished with 21 points on five made 3-pointers and five assists in the loss, while Bueckers tallied 12 and 10. The pair accounted for five steals on the defensive end as well. Napheesa Collier, who torched Dallas for 34 in the season opener, led all scorers with 28 for Minnesota in the win.