ARLINGTON, TX — The Dallas Wings (6-3) made quick work of the Seattle Storm (3-7) in the second half on Monday, cruising to a 79-56 win at College Park Center.
The Wings held the Storm scoreless for the game’s first four minutes, but shot just 3-of-11 from the field themselves, good enough to build a brief 7-0 early lead. Azzi Fudd connected on her first 3-point attempt of the game on Dallas’ first possession, which came from 25 feet away on Paige Bueckers’ first of four assists in the opening stanza.
Bueckers made an impossible finish through the desperate hacking defense of Jade Melbourne with 2:15 left in the first and completed the three-point play to give the Wings a 14-10 lead.
The Storm shot a paltry 4-of-18 (22.2%) from the floor in the first, and the Wings were only slightly better, knocking down 6-of-20 (30%) on their way to a 16-10 advantage heading into the second quarter. Jessica Shepard picked up right where she left off following Thursday’s 95-87 win over the Las Vegas Aces, when she piled up 22 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in the win — with six points and four rebounds to lead the Wings in the first.
Shepard took rookie Awa Fam off the dribble with a pretty little spin move near the block for Dallas’ first bucket of the second, increasing the lead to 18-10 with 9:27 left in the first half. Her tenacity on the offensive glass led to an extra possession and Aziaha James’ second bucket of the game the next time down. The Wings beat Seattle down on the offensive glass in the first half, 10-0, and Dallas led at halftime, 36-25. Bueckers connected on his first 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the half to stretch the Wings’ lead back into double digits and led Dallas with 10 points, six assists and five rebounds in the first half.
That 11-point lead swelled to 19 midway through the third, as the Wings allowed just four Seattle points in the first seven minutes out of halftime. James made several plays on both ends of the floor to close out the third to push the lead to 20. Dallas led the way 57-37 heading to the fourth.
Lockdown
After giving up just four Seattle made field goals in the first quarter on 22.2% shooting from the field in the first quarter, the Wings allowed just 11 total shot attempts in the second. So even on near 50% shooting, Dallas still surrendered just five total field goals in the frame.
The Storm came into the game without leading scorer Dominique Malonga (concussion, 16.0 points per game), but credit the Wings’ defense for a lot of the disruption. This is notable for a team that came into Monday’s 12th in the WNBA in defensive rating (107.3) through eight games.
Fudd’s individual defense was on display early in the third quarter. She hounded Natisha Hiedeman along the perimeter, swiping at the ball to disrupt any semblance of offensive flow for the Storm, forcing a fading shot as the shot clock expired with 7:25 left in the frame. The rookie, more known for her shooting touch, is also a bona fide pest on the defensive end. Dallas once again held the Storm scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half as their 11-point lead at the break swelled to 19 midway through the third, even without lights-out shooting on the offensive end.
Seattle made their final two 3-pointers of the third to turn what was to that point an 0-of-12 to a slightly more palatable 2-of-14 through three quarters.
Rest up
The third quarter was big for the Wings, as the 20-point lead heading into the fourth allowed head coach Jose Fernandez to rest Shepard, Bueckers, Ogunbowale and Fudd ahead of a tough upcoming scheduling stretch. Next week begins a stretch that will see Dallas begin a stretch of five games in nine days, so any accumulated rest the starters can pick up along the way will be valuable.
The Wings have depended on Shepard in particular to play heavy minutes in recent games. She logged 19 minutes in the first half on Monday before sitting for the entire fourth quarter and finishing with nine points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Win another way
The Wings came into Monday’s game as the most connected offense in the WNBA, averaging better than 23 assists per game through the first eight contests. On a night when the shots weren’t necessarily falling on the offensive end, the Wings won with defense, notching their first win of the year where the team scored fewer than 91 points.
James was a spark for the Wings’ otherwise sputtering offense in the game’s closing minutes. She completed a three-point play with 3:20 left in the game on a strong drive to the hoop to make it 70-46 and give her 13 points, a new season-high scoring mark. She then absorbed contact from Melbourne for an and-1 pull-up jumper the next time down. James led the Wings with 13 of her 16 points in the second half in the win. Rookie forward Flau’jae Johnson led the Storm with 16 points and 10 boards in the loss.
