The Dallas Wings’ (20-14) roster is in the sunken place as the second leg of their latest scheduling gauntlet gets underway.
It is a shambles on the injury front as the Wings prepare to meet Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and the Indiana Fever (21-12) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m., so at least we’ll get to bed at a respectable hour after the Wings try somehow to string two wins together for the first time since July 19.
That’s right. The Wings, who
started the season 17-8, haven’t won back-to-back games in almost a month. It’s been rough lately, and now injuries are starting to punch holes in a Dallas roster once thought to comprise the most improved unit in the WNBA this year.
Here are three things to look out for when the Wings head to Indianapolis.
Last time out
The last time these two teams played was the opening game of the 2026 WNBA season. Ah, to be young again.
The Wings raced to a dizzying 107-104 win to put the league on notice: this year was going to be no mere stepping stone. Dallas had arrived. Odyssey Sims and Arike Ogunbowale turned back the clock for 20 and 22 points, respectively, and Paige Bueckers got busy doing Paige Bueckers things, shooting 8-of-10 from the field on her way to 20 more.
At least then the Wings had rookie Azzi Fudd available off the bench as she worked her way into form after a long senior season in the college game, which ended just two months prior to the start of WNBA play.
Dallas had an answer offensively for every offensive outburst the Fever managed, on the same floor to which the injury-ravaged Wings will return to on Friday. It was an impressive opening salvo after losing three games to the Fever a year before, including two without Clark at their disposal.
Injury bug
But oh, what time hath wrought for these Wings. Backup guard Aziaha James, whose importance for this team jolted to the forefront in the wake of Fudd’s most recent right knee injury, went down in a heap on Wednesday when she tried to take a charge against Tempo forward Isabelle Harrison and hobbled to the locker room with the help of the training staff after sustaining what’s being called a left leg injury. The Wings held on for a 94-88 win over Toronto at College Park Center, their first in four games.
Fudd, meanwhile, was initially held out two games prior, against the Golden State Valkyries, “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the team, due to knee soreness. Well, she hasn’t seen the floor since and is also listed as out for the game at Indiana, so the only thing the Wings have in abundance now seems to be injured key players. So much for soreness. Fudd tore her right ACL and MCL during her five-season tenure at UConn.
Jessica Shepard will also miss her second straight game after rolling her right ankle in Sunday’s 103-90 loss at the league-leading and world-beating Minnesota Lynx. The Fever have the high ground in this one, despite Clark (back) and Boston (right leg) being listed on the injury report as probable.
I got a Fever
The Fever have answered a recent pair of losses to the Lynx and Las Vegas Aces with back-to-back wins at the Chicago Sky and against the New York Liberty. They have won seven of their last nine games. They are doing what Dallas wanted so badly to do, rounding into well-oiled form with 11 regular-season games remaining on the schedule. Clark has scored at least 19 points in each of her last six games. Boston is one of those bullies inside that gives the Wings fits, but she’s skilled enough to do it in one of several ways. The Wings have never been able to stop Mitchell — now, without two key guards and their best perimeter defender, don’t expect things to change on Friday.
How to watch
The Wings and the Fever are scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The game will be televised on Ion.
