Dallas Blows past Connecticut for 2025's First Win
May 27, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release
Uncasville, Conn. - The Dallas Wings clinched their first win of the 2025 season, winning at the Connecticut Sun 109-87, Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. In what was a homecoming for former UConn standout Paige Bueckers, the rookie scored a career-best 21 points. The victory marked the first career win for Wings Head Coach Chris Koclanes. Dallas improved to 1-4 on the year while Connecticut fell to 0-5.
All 12 players on the Wings roster played on Tuesday night for the first time this season, with 11 players scoring points, including five in double figures, to lead Dallas to its highest scoring output on the year. Arike Ogunbowale tallied 19 points to go along with six steals, matching her career high, while DiJonai Carrington (16 points), Maddy Siegrist (12) and Kaila Charles (10) also scored in double figures.
JJ Quinerly (5 points) and Aziaha James (9) each added career highs in points in what was a night highlighted by the Wings rookies.
Bueckers added seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block. She became the first rookie this season with a 20+ point game and the fastest player in league history to record 60+ points and 30+ assists (five games), surpassing Suzie McConell Serio (six games). The guard is also the first rookie to record 20+ pts, 5+ reb, 5+ ast and 2+ stl while shooting 80% from the field in a game.
Ogunbowale surpassed A'ja Wilson for the second-most points through 200 career games, tallying 4,083 points, sitting only behind Breanna Stewart (4,121 points in 200 games).
Game Leaders Points Rebounds Assists
Dallas Bueckers (21) Hines-Allen (7) Bueckers (7)
Connecticut Charles (27) Charles (6) Sheldon (7)
First Quarter: Dallas 23, Connecticut 24
The Wings featured a starting lineup of Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, DiJonai Carrington, Myisha Hines-Allen and NaLyssa Smith for the fifth time this season.
Carrington got the Dallas offense rolling by scoring the first five points herself, hitting a layup in transition and knocking down a three. The Wings took a six-point lead after Smith found Bueckers for a 16-foot jumper.
Marina Mabrey then fueled a 9-0 Connecticut run with four consecutive points from Olivia Nelson-Ododa to take a 3-point lead. Nearly 10 seconds after subbing into the game for the first time, Bueckers found Maddy Siegrist for a 3-pointer to give Dallas an 18-17 lead.
Bueckers led the Wings with seven points in the first, going 2-of-2 from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Dallas shot 56.2% from the field and 66.7% from 3-point range. T
Second Quarter: Dallas 33, Connecticut 18
Dallas produced its highest scoring second quarter of the season and highest scoring first half of the year, courtesy of an explosive 23-9 run lasting until the 3:36 mark of the second quarter.
Teaira McCowan kicked off the offensive charge with a putback make and the and-one. Minutes later, Aziaha James recorded the first points of her career with a corner three. The rookie guard tallied nine points in the first half to headline the Wings bench. Siegrist then marked the Wings' largest lead of the season at 12 points, knocking down another 3-pointer. Hines-Allen stretched the lead to 16 points with free throws.
Bueckers closed the half with 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals. The guard was the first player since Glory Johnson in 2017 to record 15+ pts, 5+ ast, 4+ rebs and 2+ steals in the first half of a regular-season game.
The Wings bench outscored the Sun's 26-12 as all but one player that saw action off the bench scored. The Dallas defense forced nine Connecticut turnovers while limiting the Sun to five second chance points and six fast break points.
As a unit, Dallas shot 54.5% from the field, 71.4% from 3-point range and 88.2% from the free throw line in the first half.
Third Quarter: Dallas 32, Connecticut 32
Dallas marked another high-scoring quarter with 32 points in the third. Ogunbowale accounted for nearly half of the Wings' offense, tallying 15 points with three makes from behind the arc. The guard dished two assists and created four points from assists in the quarter.
Carrington followed Ogunbowale with nine points, two rebounds and a block. Hines-Allen recorded her fourth rebound of the night to mark her 1,000th career rebound. Mabrey and Connecticut's Tina Charles combined for all but five of the Sun's points in the third.
The Wings maintained their advantage beneath the basket, going 7-of-11 in the paint to outscore Connecticut 14-8. Dallas shot 55% from the field, 44.4% from 3-point range and 100% from the charity stripe.
Fourth Quarter: Dallas 21, Connecticut 13
Dallas opened the final stanza on a 9-0 run, paced by five points from Siegrist. The run surged to 21-9, lasting until the final minute of play.
The Wings bench produced 17 of its 21 fourth-quarter points, including Luisa Geiselsöder's first career basket. Siegrist led all scorers with six points, going 2-of-4 from the field. JJ Quinerly added five points, featuring her first career 3-pointer to record a career-high five points. The group shot 61.5% from the field while holding Connecticut to shooting just 20% from the field.
On the night, Dallas shot season highs from the field (.561), three (.500) and the free-throw line (.862). The Wings also notched season bests in assists (26), steals (10) and rebounding margin (+8).
Dallas concludes its four-game road swing on Thursday at the Chicago Sky. Tipoff at Wintrust Arena is slated for 7:00 p.m. CT, with the game airing locally on KFAA and streaming on Prime Video.
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from May 27, 2025
- Postgame Notes: Min vs Sea (5.27.25) - Minnesota Lynx
- Dallas Blows past Connecticut for 2025's First Win - Dallas Wings
- Valkyries Fall at Defending Champs - Golden State Valkyries
- Sun Drops Home Contest to Wings, 109-87 - Connecticut Sun
- Kayla Thornton Receives Championship Ring, Valkyries Fall to Defending Champion Liberty - Golden State Valkyries
- Statement from the Chicago Sky - Chicago Sky
- Sky Close out West Coast Trip against New-Look Mercury - Chicago Sky
- Indiana Fever Issues Statement - Indiana Fever
- Connecticut Sun Announces First Ever Sun & Soul Fest - Connecticut Sun
- Fever to Take on Mystics on Wednesday in Baltimore - Indiana Fever
- New York Liberty Announce New Strategic Investors - New York Liberty
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