The Dallas Wings (19-14) fell to the Minnesota Lynx, [103-90](https://www.espn.com/wnba/boxscore/_/gameId/401857130) (27-7), in a mid-Sunday matchup at the Target Center in Minnesota. Dallas kept its head above water through roughly the first 25 minutes of the game before Minnesota completely flipped the momentum in its favor, leaving the Wings with no ability to crawl themselves out of the hole they found themselves in. The loss marks Dallas’ fifth in six games, a stretch that will certainly impact the Wings’ postseason seeding.
Paige Bueckers led the Wings today with 23. Kayla McBride contributed a season-high 43 points and broke the record for most three-pointers in WNBA history with 10 for the Lynx. The Wings missed Azzi Fudd in this matchup, who has missed two straight games due to [right knee soreness](https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/wnba_injury/Injury-Report_2026-08-09_03_15PM.pdf).
The Wings came into this matchup looking to play with shame following their recent rough stretch that displayed four losses in five games, and kept up with the Lynx in the first quarter, staying within a possession throughout the period. Jessica Shepard went to the locker room in the first quarter after turning her right ankle and did not return to the game. Dallas went deep into its bench early in this one after Shepard went down, and was able to finish the first quarter up two off first-quarter contributions from Bueckers, Odyssey Sims, and Aziaha James.
As the second period commenced, Dallas stretched its run out to 10-0 in an all-bench lineup off of inside buckets from Li Yueru and James, forcing Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve to call a timeout to try to stop the Wings’ momentum. Kayla McBride went on a 15-point heater in the second quarter that allowed the Lynx to swing the momentum in their direction, and the Wings had no answer for her defensively. Both squads continued to deal blows to one another heading into the intermission, which ended with a step-back three-pointer from Olivia Miles that put the Wings down 47-45 heading into the half.
The Wings played sloppily to start the second half with three turnovers that allowed the Lynx to push their lead to eight. The Wings were able to respond and punched back with a 10-2 run behind Bueckers, James, and Alanna Smith. Minnesota proved that their two games in 24 hours were no problem and retaliated with a 10-2 run of its own to close the third quarter, and Dallas ultimately saw themselves on the wrong side of a 76-68 Lynx lead. Dallas had no fight left after finding themselves in this deficit and spent the fourth quarter trying to crawl themselves out of the hole they allowed the Lynx to create through poor defensive efforts, and ultimately bowed out of this game to the more talented team.
Here are three takeaways from the Wings’ third straight loss.
The Wings were shorthanded tonight without Fudd’s shooting and Shepard’s inside presence, but did not let that keep them down today. Odyssey Sims, Aziaha James, and Alanna Smith all stepped up for Dallas, allowing the Wings to show a little bit of fight throughout the game. Sims and James finished with a combined 36 points, allowing the Wings to have an outlet for Bueckers to have an outlet after being swarmed by the Lynx throughout most of the game. Their production kept the Wings from letting Minnesota take complete control of a game where Arike Ogunbowale struggled.
Turnovers were an Achilles’ heel for the Wings today, finishing with 18, a rare occurrence for a typically low-turnover team. Dallas moved the ball more after struggling with this in Friday’s loss, but by extension, a stealthy Lynx defense was able to pressure the ball out of the Wings’ hands. Dallas averages right at 10 turnovers per game and was unable to handle the Lynx’s pressure amid their shorthanded, offense-heavy team.
The Wings once again fell apart in the second half after staying afloat throughout the first. This reiterates the Wings’ defensive struggles down the stretch that have led to their recent skid. If they cannot consistently get defensive stops, then they have to fight back through their offense. Missing Fudd and Shepard prevented the Wings from truly doing that today, but this highlights a continued issue for the Wings in their defense, highlighted by their lack of effort allowing McBride to have a career night. Until the Wings can improve their defensive repertoire, they will continue to be a tier-behind teams like the Lynx in terms of the hunt for a championship. Today’s loss was a reminder that Dallas still has a lot of work to do to get on the level of the likes of Minnesota.
The Dallas Wings head back home to College Park Center to face the Toronto Tempo. Tune into USA Network at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday to catch the matchup.