Big Second Half Sends Wings over Los Angeles
WNBA Dallas Wings

Big Second Half Sends Wings over Los Angeles

Published on September 17, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release


Arlington, TX - The Dallas Wings used a second-half surge to score a 97-77 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night at a sold-out College Park Center. The Wings outscored the Sparks 53-33 over the final 20 minutes in the win. Jessica Shepard recorded her WNBA-leading fifth triple-double of the season with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, while Paige Bueckers led Dallas in scoring for the 23rd time this season with a game-high 19 points. The Wings improve to 25-16 on the year with the 3-0 series sweep of the Sparks, who fall to 15-26 overall. Dallas earns the sweep over LA for the first time since 2021.

Shepard and Bueckers were two of six Wings to score in double figures, including Kitija Laksa who tallied 10 points off 4-8 shooting in her Dallas debut. Arike Ogunbowale added 11 points and Maddy Siegrist scored 12, while Aziaha James added 10 off the bench.

Dallas had a season-high 31 assists with Haley Jones adding a season-high four dimes in four minutes off the bench. The Wings also had a season-high 11 blocks led by six from Awak Kuier - her second game this season of six or more rejections - most in the WNBA.

The Wings shot .507 from the field, .333 from three, and .786 from the free-throw line, while the Sparks shot .372 overall, .280 from deep and .632 from the charity stripe. Dallas held the advantage in rebounds (46-27), points in the paint (48-38) and fast break points (20-11), while LA led in second chance points (15-11). Nneka Ogwumike led the Sparks with 18 points off 8-12 shooting.

The Wings will conclude their regular-season home slate on Saturday when they host the Phoenix Mercury at noon CT. The game will air nationally on CBS.

Game Leaders

Points Rebounds Assists

Los Angeles Ogwumike (18) Ogwumike (7) Four tied (4)

Dallas Bueckers (19) Shepard (11) Shepard (12)

First Quarter: Dallas 25, Los Angeles 25

The Wings utilized a starting lineup of Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, Awak Kuier, Maddy Siegrist and Jessica Shepard for the first time. Dallas scored the first five points of the game, with a Bueckers mid-range jumper followed by a Siegrist triple. The first went on to be a back-and-forth battle with eight lead changes and six ties. Bueckers went a perfect 5-5 from the field for 10 points - the fifth time this season she has scored in double figures in the opening quarter and second time in her career she has done so while shooting 100-percent from the field. Aziaha James came off the bench to score five points. Dallas shot .579 from the field while limiting Los Angeles to a .476 clip. Rae Burrell led the Sparks with six points.

Second Quarter: Dallas 19, Los Angeles 19

Both offenses slowed in the second, with Dallas shooting .353 to the Sparks' .348 clip. Bueckers, James and Alysha Clark scored five points apiece but Shepard was kept off the scoreboard for the entire first half. Bueckers' 15 points at the half led all scorers. The Wings committed six turnovers in the quarter while the Sparks were credited with just one miscue in the frame. Dallas went into the half in a tie for just the second time this season.

Third Quarter: Dallas 25, Los Angeles 14

After LA struck first Dallas used a 7-2 run to take a five-point lead, 56-51, with just over five minutes left in the third. The Sparks got back within two, 58-56, with under three minutes to go before the Wings closed the quarter on an 11-2 run as their lead swelled to double-figures, 69-58. Kuier had three blocks in the third and made the three-pointer which gave the Wings a nine-point lead late in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter: Dallas 28, Los Angeles 19

The Wings' offense surged in the fourth, making eight of their first nine shots from the field to lead by 24, 89-65, with 4:33 to go. Dallas rested its starters for much of the fourth, as all available players on the Wings roster saw action in the frame. The Wings assisted on 10 of 12 field goals made in the fourth, with Haley Jones tallying four dimes and Bueckers adding two. Shepard scored nine of her 13 in the fourth to tally her sixth career triple-double.

Check out the Dallas Wings Statistics

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from September 17, 2026


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