The Dallas Wings (19-12) fell to the Washington Mystics (17-12) 96-92 in a Wednesday night matchup between two young squads that served as a rematch of last Friday’s Mystics’ win. The Wings made a return to Washington with the hopes of rewriting their last matchup’s results that fell short.
Dallas executed their offense aggressively in the first half, putting up the most first-half points against a #3 defensive team in the league all season. The Wings went into the intermission with a 59-44 lead and
complete momentum heading into the second half after the Mystics struggled to produce any offense in the second period.
Washington punched back coming out of the half, cutting the lead to 10 before Alanna Smith extended the lead to 14 off two layups. The Wings’ offense fell stagnant to end the third quarter and let the Mystics cut the lead to eight off defensive lapses to Lauren Betts and a buzzer-beater from Sonia Citron. The Wings went on a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter led by Kiki Iriafen and Michaela Onyenwere to cut the Dallas lead to two—cue the “heart-attack Wings” and PTSD from Friday’s loss. Dallas allowed the Mystics’ late run to get in their heads, allowing Washington to go up five off defensive mistakes in favor of Citron. The Wings’ offense couldn’t get anything going off the Mystics’ tough defense in the clutch, even with having the best player on the floor in Paige Bueckers. The Mystics put the nail in the coffin with Cotie McMahon’s toughness on both ends of the floor, with a block and a layup on the other end.
Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith led the Wings with a combined 43 points and 22 rebounds. Shakira Austin led the way for the Mystics with 27 points.
Here are three points to note from tonight’s painful loss.
Hello Alanna Smith
2025 Co-Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith had her breakout game for the Wings, greatly impacting both ends of the floor, and was a leading factor in the Wings controlling the momentum of the game. She contributed 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 stocks (steals+blocks). She fought aggressively on the boards, finishing the night with 3 offensive rebounds. She showed a glimmer of why the Wings brought her in this offseason. She struggled to find her footing in the first half of the season due to a broken nose and leg injuries. Though the Wings couldn’t execute in the end, Smith was certainly a bright side of this game that can give the Wings a lot to build on.
Paint defense struggles continue
Fourth-quarter paint defense was a big factor in the Wings’ struggles tonight. This continues to be an issue down the stretch in late-game execution. The Wings were allowing a layup line on defense while being unable to produce any kind of meaningful buckets to sustain the lead. While the Wings certainly lack the repertoire to consistently defend the paint, they will continue to let this be their Achilles’ heel to close the season. The Wings’ defensive missteps down low late in the game allowed Austin and McMahon to completely flip the momentum of the matchup. The Wings allowed this to get too far into their head, and ultimately were unable to use their offensive firepower to keep their head above water.
Another quiet Paige Bueckers game
Paige Bueckers had another quiet night outside of a couple of late shots to try to keep the Wings in the game. She finished with 17 points on 6-of-15 from the field. While she recently missed a game due to an injury sustained against the Sparks before the All-Star break, it seems like she hasn’t been the same Paige Buckets that we have come to know and love. While at times she has shown to not want to turn up the aggression, the Wings are going to need their star to bounce back as the season concludes if Dallas wants any type of fighting chance in the postseason. There’s nothing to be concerned over in the long haul, but Dallas needs Bueckers to lead as one of the best players in the world.
Up next
The Wings are back in action Friday night against the Golden State Valkyries. Tune into ION at 8:30 p.m. CT to catch the action.
