DALLAS, TX — The Golden State Valkyries (22-9) gave the Dallas Wings (19-13) a rude welcome to their own house, days after it was announced that the Wings would play all of their home games at the American Airlines Center in the 2027 season, in a 94-76 thrashing in front of 16,441 home fans.
Veronica Burton led all scorers with 22 points and dished seven assists for Golden State, and the Valkyries forced 13 Wings turnovers in the win.
Paige Bueckers set the tone early for the Wings, scoring 11 of her
team-high 17 points in the first quarter. But back-to-back uncharacteristic Dallas turnovers in the final minute of the frame after she went to the bench for a breather allowed the Valkyries to take a 26-21 lead after one.
The Wings couldn’t put a possession to bed on defense to start the second, and Golden State took advantage of the extra chances. Former Wing Kaila Charles drove past Sug Sutton for a downhill score after two Valkyrie offensive rebounds on the trip to put Golden State ahead 32-25 with 7:54 left before the half.
The Wings fought, but it was all uphill to end the half. That’s what the Valkyries do — they make you fight for every bucket. Gabby Williams hit her first 3-ball of the game with just three seconds left on the clock to give Golden State a 44-36 lead at the break.
Arike Ogunbowale missed her first five shots to start the game but made a move along the baseline and saw one go down on a drive early in the third, but the Wings had already dug themselves into a hole by giving up two offensive rebounds in the first minute of the half. Her tough bucket made it 49-38, but Kiah Stokes hit a 3-pointer in response, and Kayla Thornton cut inside for another driving bucket to put the Valkyries up 54-38 and force Wings head coach Jose Fernandez into a timeout two minutes into the half.
Golden State pushed its lead to 20, 72-52, with a little more than a minute left in the third on a pair of free throws from Laeticia Amihere, and against the WNBA’s No. 1 rated defense, that’s a hill that few can climb. The Wings had nothing in the way of a fourth-quarter comeback in their bad this time around.
Fudd ruled out after warmups
Azzi Fudd was ruled out of the game with right knee soreness about a half hour before tipoff. Aziaha James replaced Fudd in the starting lineup after playing double-digit minutes just once since July 5. The Wings PR Machine made sure to contextualize Fudd’s sudden removal from Friday night’s lineup, saying the move was made “out of an abundance of caution” after the soreness came to light following pregame warmups.
When the team makes sure to point out that “The Wings are in the midst of playing six games in 12 days, with the stretch concluding on Sunday at the Minnesota Lynx,” it makes it sound like Fudd could have gone if there weren’t so many games piled up on each other in this early-August stretch. We’ll be watching out for any updates on Fudd’s status ahead of Sunday’s matinee matchup with the Minnesota Lynx.
James shot just 3-of-12 from the floor and scored seven of her 13 points from the free throw line in the spot start.
With a bang
Bueckers nailed 3-pointers on the Wings’ first two possessions, bucking a trend this season of letting the game come to her, which has sometimes coincided with slow starts by the Dallas offense. She curled off a screen on the second possession and didn’t think twice, giving Dallas an early 6-0 lead just 44 seconds into the game. When her instincts take over, she’s special to watch.
The Wings missed their next eight field goals after Bueckers started the game with a bang — then she rose up for a fadeaway jumper over Kaila Charles along the baseline with 4:12 left in the first to give Dallas a 13-10 advantage. Two possessions later, she shook Thornton out of her shoes on her way to a scooping lefty layup to give Bueckers 10 points in the quarter. She led all scorers with 11 in nine first-quarter minutes but appeared to be limping as she came back into the game early in the second.
Bueckers hit just one field goal in the second, but still led all scorers with 13 at halftime.
Then a whimper
Dallas shot just 5-of-17 from the field in the first quarter, then opened the second by hitting just two of their first nine in the frame. At the same time, the Valkyries were busy building a 26-16 advantage on the boards. Late in the second, it was beginning to look like a clinic, until Awak Kuier hit her first 3-pointer of the game from the right wing to pull Dallas to within 37-31. Then, with just 1:20 left in the half, Jessica Shepard cleaned up an Odyssey Sims miss with a tough bucket underneath to make it 39-34.
That salty Golden State defense held the Wings to just 15 points in the second on 5-of-14 shooting, but the Dallas defense did its part, too, giving up just 18 on 8-of-19 and just 1-of-9 from deep in the second. Turnovers reared their ugly head for the Wings in the second, too. Dallas turned it over five times in the frame.
Makes at a premium
The Wings made just five field goals in each of the first three quarters. They shot 5-of-17, 5-of-14 and 5-of-17. The Golden State defense is just everywhere. They’re all over you. You become a Waffle House order of hash browns, smothered and covered.
Take, for instance, the final possession of the third quarter. The Wings sprinted down the floor in hopes of gaining an advantage with speed down the floor in the frame’s final seconds. James rose up in traffic for an attempt that was absolutely snuffed out in the mid-range by Amihere. James got the ball back with just a tick left on the clock, but Amihere was still right there and rose up for a second block in as many seconds.
Ogunbowale finished the game shooting 2-of-10 for just five points. Shepard managed just six on 2-of-7 from the field. Bueckers led the Wings with 17, but scored just 11 on four made field goals after her flurry in the game’s opening minute.
It’s impressive. The Wings have been a good story for most of this season, sure, but the Valkyries showed them on Friday what elite roster building and defense look like.
