The Minnesota Lynx and Dallas Wings will clash for the second time in the opening week of the WNBA season on Wednesday in Minneapolis, with the teams already establishing marching orders for their respective campaigns.
The Lynx, who played in the league finals last season, have picked up right where they left off and look to be one of the WNBA’s best teams. Dallas, meanwhile, is a group in transition, with a new coach and nine new players including Paige Bueckers, the first overall pick in last month’s WNBA draft.
Minnesota prepares for its home opener after beating the Wings 99-84 on Friday and then Los Angeles — another team with no place to go but up — 89-75 on Sunday.
Napheesa Collier scored 23 points in the win for the Lynx while Alanna Smith had 18, Courtney Williams racked up 13 points and 10 assists and Jessica Shepard added her own double-double off the bench with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Minnesota led by just one at halftime in Los Angeles but kicked it into gear in the second half in a pattern that mimicked its win over Dallas on Friday.
“We don’t want to be a second-half team,” Williams said. “The energy we’ve been bringing (on defense) in the second half, we want to bring for 40 minutes. It’s just understanding we have to come out and be aggressive, punch people first.”
The Wings hit the road for the first time in 2025 after back-to-back home setbacks to Minnesota and, most recently, Seattle on Monday. In the latter contest, Dallas led early in the second quarter but fell behind by 15 points at the break before succumbing 79-71 to fall to 0-2.
Bueckers led the Wings with 19 points in her second professional game. NaLyssa Smith and Maddy Siegrist each added 12 for Dallas while Teaira McCowan scored 10 off the bench.
Dallas All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale had only eight points on 2-of-14 shooting, showing that the Wings need to have all their considerable weapons firing to make an impact.
A lot has been said about the potential of a Bueckers-Ogunbowale backcourt, but building chemistry and familiarity is not a process that can be hurried.
“As much as it’s exciting to play with Arike in the backcourt, we’re trying to grow as a team,” Bueckers said. “We’re not focused on any duo, trio. … We’re focused on one through 12 and how we look as a team.”
–Field Level Media
