Wings Things: Dallas’ warts are showing once again in Wings’ latest four-game losing streak

Paige Bueckers #5 of the Dallas Wings is defended by Jackie Young #0 of the Las Vegas Aces during the first half of a game at College Park Center on July 16, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. | Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

ARLINGTON, TX — The growing pains are back, and the Dallas Wings have dropped four in a row heading into the WNBA All-Star Break.

The recurring themes of the Wings’ 2025 campaign reared their ugly head once again in Wednesday’s 90-86 loss to the Las Vegas Aces at College Park Center. If you’ve been following the team closely this year, no doubt, you’ll recognize them.

Say it with me now. Missed layups and shot-clock violations. Long scoreless stretches from four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale. Low-energy

spells in the third quarter that lead to ill-fated fourth-quarter comeback attempts. The Wings learned on Wednesday that those self-inflicted wounds hurt all the more when you’re staring down All-WNBA center A’Ja Wilson, who missed the two teams’ first meeting of the year, an 88-84 Aces win on June 13.

Ogunbowale hit two of her first three first-quarter 3-point attempts on Wednesday, opening the door for a bounce-back night after Sunday’s 0-for-10 shooting night in the team’s ugly 102-83 loss at the Indiana Fever.

The Wings (6-17) battled to a 22-22 tie with the Aces (11-11) at the end of one, as Ogunbowale and Paige Bueckers paced Dallas with six points apiece. It was playing out through 10 minutes just like Wings head coach Chris Koclanes said in his pre-game comments.

“We need Arike. The best version of Arike is just going to make us better,” Koclanes said. “I believe in Arike, and this organization believes in Arike. She’s a superstar. She’s going to be just fine. She’s going to turn this thing around.”

But Ogunbowale missed her next nine shot attempts before sinking a big 3-ball from the corner as part of (once again) a furious fourth-quarter comeback attempt that came up short, falling back into the periodic funk she’s found herself in at times this season for most of three quarters against the Aces.

There was Sunday’s 0-for-10 game coming back after missing three games with a thumb injury. There was the 2-for-9 performance (seven points) against the league-worst Connecticut Sun on June 20. What about the 2-for-10 night Ogunbowale suffered through on June 11 (10 points) at the Phoenix Mercury? Or the 4-for-15 shooting night (eight points) at the Seattle Storm on June 3? Earlier in the season, she put up both another 2-for-10 outing on May 24 at the Atlanta Dream (five points) and a 2-for-14 stinker (eight points) at home against Seattle on May 19.

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Aaliyah Nye #13 of the Las Vegas Aces drives around Arike Ogunbowale #24 of the Dallas Wings during the second half of a game at College Park Center on July 16, 2025 in Arlington, Texas.

At times, Ogunbowale seems to hunt contact on her way to the basket more than she does the chance to score. The heretofore star guard was called for an offensive foul with three minutes left before halftime when she gave Jewel Loyd a forearm shiver in anticipation of contact on the way to the rack. Earlier in the game, she blew a fast break opportunity by leaning into whatever contact she thought was coming rather than sprinting directly to the cup. It looked like she was hunting a foul, one that official after official this season has been content to let slide.

Blown layups have been a recurring theme for the Wings all season, and not just from Ogunbowale. JJ Quinerly, the team’s emerging rookie point guard who scored 17 points against the Aces, smoked three simple layup attempts, including two transition breakaways, in Wednesday’s loss, and got another two or three attempts blocked on her way to the hoop. At various times, all the bigs on this roster have whiffed on more-than-makeable attempts in close to the rim. There are enough shortcomings to go around with this team, make no mistake.

Dallas fell down by 22 points late in the third as the Aces defense shut the Wings down on their way to a 25-11 scoring advantage in the frame. It, once again, put the team in the unenviable position of having to climb a mountain in 10 short minutes in the fourth. Bueckers, Quinerly, Li Yueru and Hayley Jones nearly did it, too.

“We came out flat. We weren’t ready. It started right off the bat,” Koclanes said. “We were all turning and watching. We just didn’t have the correct energy, and we couldn’t shift it, either. Couple shot clock violations in there — we were just stagnant and slow.”

Ogunbowale hit that massive corner 3-pointer with just over a minute remaining, her only make of the second half, to pull Dallas to within four points, down 86-62. Then Bueckers stepped in for a little baseline leaner to make it 86-84 with 36 seconds left to play.

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

A’ja Wilson #22 of the Las Vegas Aces drives to the basket against Li Yueru #28 of the Dallas Wings during the second half of a game at College Park Center on July 16, 2025 in Arlington, Texas.

But Wilson, who beat the Wings up for 37 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists on the night, scored the definitive blow to thwart the Dallas comeback, scoring on a drive after a nice find from guard Chelsea Gray with 23 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.

Bueckers scored 20 points and dished eight assists in the final game before the first WNBA All-Star Game of her career. Quinerly added 17 points, five rebounds and five steals in the loss. Ogunbowale finished with nine points on 3-of-12 shooting.

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