The Dallas Wings (19-12) will host the Golden State Valkyries (21-9) on Friday at the team’s future home, just days after announcing that all 2027 home games would be played at Dallas’ American Airlines Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
The Wings have hit a rocky 3-4 patch in their last seven games, while the Valkyries come into the matchup riding 11 wins in their last 13 games. The Wings lost on Wednesday, 96-92 at the Washington Mystics, while Golden State won both legs of its pair against
the Toronto Tempo.
Here are three things to watch out for when the Wings look to right the ship against one of two teams tied for the second-best record in the WNBA.
Balancing act
The Wings’ defensive gameplan won’t be to focus on one gravitational player on this Valkyries roster. Gabby Williams and Janelle Salaun can beat you along the perimeter, but they’re not volume scorers necessarily. Veronica Burton is a solid distributor but doesn’t burn up the nets, either. Kiah Stokes is a good shot blocker, but not the bruising kind of scorer inside that has given Dallas the most trouble this season. Kaitlyn Chen can get hot off the bench but isn’t a game-breaker.
What the Valkyries do best is disrupt you defensively. They own the best team defensive rating (101.7) in the W, and they also lead the league in percentage of their points scored from behind the 3-point line (39.1%). They run 10 to 11 deep with players who can give them quality minutes. They’re just so damn solid. While they may not be built like one of those teams that tends to give the Wings fits, what they do is they tend to tie everyone they play into knots.
This is not the team you want to see on the schedule when you’re in desperate need of a get-right game, as the Wings are right now. Good luck, ladies.
Last time out
Friday will be the second of three meetings between Dallas and Golden State this season. The Valkyries beat the Wings 91-80 back on June 17, when Williams went off for a game-high 25 points. Golden State shot 12-of-25 (48%) from 3-point land in that win.
Just like in Wednesday’s loss at the Mystics, Dallas faded in the fourth quarter. That’s something the Wings will have to correct to have a chance at the bounce-back they’re looking for.
The discrepancy at the free-throw line was also a big factor in that loss. Golden State made 21-of-27 (78%) from the line in the win, while Dallas shot just 11-of-16 (69%), including multiple misses down the stretch that could have changed the tenor of the game late. Opponents have lived at the free-throw line against the Wings in more recent losses as well.
Dallas has to find a way to defend more effectively without fouling this time around.
Show out
In her last five games, which include four Wings losses, Paige Bueckers is averaging just 12.8 points per game. That ain’t it. Bueckers is an all-world talent, and everyone knows it, especially opposing defenses.
Dallas has to find a way to attack the blitzes and double-teams that come at Bueckers early in possessions, instead of watching her float after she’s forced to give the ball up.
Look for Bueckers to assert herself early on against the Valkyries to set the tone for a team that needs a win right now like fish need water.
How to watch
The Wings and the Valkyries tip off from American Airlines Center at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. The game will air nationally on ION.
