Fast Start Carries Wings
Published on July 5, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release
Toronto, ON - Today the Dallas Wings picked up an 89-76 road victory over the Toronto Tempo in the two teams' first-ever meeting. With the wire-to-wire win, Dallas improves to 13-8 on the season, the Wings' best start over 21 games in team history, while Toronto drops to 9-11 on the year.
All active players for Dallas logged minutes in today's win, with all five starters finishing in double-digits. The game marked the seventh time this season that five Wings scored 10 or more points, with Dallas improving to 7-0 in those games.
Paige Bueckers led the way with a game-high 22 points, three rebounds and a game-high seven assists. The outing marks her 12th 20+ point game this season, as she takes sole possession of second-most 20+ point contests this year in the WNBA. Bueckers has scored at least 22 points in Dallas' last five games, which marks the longest active streak in the WNBA and the second longest 22+ point streak in the league this year.
Rookie guard Azzi Fudd finished with 17 points, three rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block in the win. She notched five three-point field goals, becoming the only rookie this season with two games with at least five threes. Fudd also eclipsed 20 blocks in her WNBA career, becoming the fastest guard in league history to hit the mark (20 games).
Jessica Shepard added her 12th double-double of the year, notching 14 points, a game-high 15 rebounds, three assists and one steal. She tied her season-high with six offensive rebounds. Her 12 double-doubles is good for second in the WNBA this season behind the Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese. Shepard notched 15 rebounds for the sixth time this season in today's win, which leads the WNBA.
Arike Ogunbowale and Awak Kuier rounded out Dallas's double-digit scorers with 10 points apiece. Ogunbowale grabbed a season-high six boards and dished out two assists in 27 minutes of action, while Kuier tallied a season-high three blocks, along with six boards and one steal.
The Wings finished the day shooting 44% (33/75) from the field, including 35.7% (10/28) from three. Dallas held Toronto to just 38.9% (28/72) from the floor in the game. The Wings won the battle on the glass (42-35), in the paint (38-32) and on second chance opportunities (20-6), while the Tempo held the advantage on the fast break (19-15).
Marina Mabrey led the Tempo with 19 points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. Nyara Sabally and Isabelle Harrison added 14 and 13 points respectively, while Kia Nurse added 12 points off the bench.
The Wings and Toronto match up for the second time during the 2026 regular season on Friday, July 10 at 6:30 p.m. CT in Montreal.
Next up for Dallas is a road contest against the New York Liberty on Tuesday, July 7 at 7:00 p.m. CT. The game will air nationally on ESPN.
Game Leaders
Points Rebounds Assists
Dallas Bueckers (22) Shepard (15) Bueckers (7)
Toronto Mabrey (19) Conde (10) Sabally, Mabrey (5)
First Quarter: Dallas 30, Toronto 19
The starting lineup for the Wings was Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, Azzi Fudd, Awak Kuier and Jessica Shepard for the eighth straight game. Dallas began the contest on a 9-2 run courtesy of three-pointers from Fudd, Bueckers and Kuier. Toronto responded with two three-pointers from Marina Mabrey, but the Wings answered with eight straight points to take a 17-8 lead into the first media break of the game. Dallas began the game shooting 5/6 (83.3%) from beyond the arc through five minutes of play.
The Wings led by as many as 14 in the first, but a three-point basket at the buzzer from Toronto's Nyara Sabally closed Dallas's lead to 11, 30-19, heading into the second. Nine Wings scored in the opening quarter, with Fudd leading the way with six points, one rebound and one steal. Dallas's 30 points in the opening stanza marked a season-high for points in a first quarter. Dallas is now 6-0 when scoring 30+ points in a quarter. The Wings also tied their season-high for offensive rebounds in a single quarter with seven in the first ten minutes of action.
Second Quarter: Dallas 17, Toronto 23
The two teams traded baskets to open the second, with the Wings taking a 39-26 lead over the Tempo after a 9-7 start to the quarter. Shepard notched four of Dallas's nine to begin the second, while Bueckers dished two assists on that stretch. A 5-2 spurt from the Tempo cut the Wings' lead to ten, 41-31, but an and-one conversion from Bueckers extended the advantage back up to 13, 44-31, with 2:43 to play in the half. Toronto closed the first half on an 11-3 run to cut Dallas's lead to five, 47-42, heading into the locker room.
Fudd led the Wings with 12 points, while Bueckers added 10 points, two rebounds and five assists in the half. Dallas shot 38.1% (16/42), while Toronto went 44.1% (15/34) from the field through two quarters of action. Both teams hit seven three-point field goals in the first half, with the Wings shooting 7/18 (38.9%) and Tempo shooting 7/14 (50%). Dallas grabbed nine offensive boards in the first half, tying their season-high for most offensive rebounds in a single half this season.
Third Quarter: Dallas 24, Toronto 17
A bucket from the Tempo's Isabelle Harrison to start the half made it a one possession game, 47-44, but the Wings rattled off eight unanswered to take a 55-44 lead and force Toronto into a timeout with 8:00 to go in the third. Shepard notched four of Dallas's eight to begin the half. An 8-4 run from Dallas gave them their largest lead of the quarter at 15, 63-48, but Toronto tallied seven in a row to cut the advantage to eight, 63-55, with 3:30 to go in the third. The Wings closed the quarter on another 8-4 spurt to extend their lead back to 12, 71-59, heading into the fourth. Bueckers led Dallas with six points, while Kuier and Fudd each notched five in the third.
Fourth Quarter: Dallas 18, Toronto 17
The Tempo began the fourth on a 7-4 run to trim the Wings' advantage to single digits, 75-66, with 5:54 to go in the game. Dallas responded with four points from Bueckers and an and-one conversion from Ogunbowale to push their lead to 16, 82-66, with 3:59 to go in the fourth. The Wings enjoyed a lead as large as 20 in the final quarter and the Tempo were not able to get closer than 13 in the final minutes of action, with the Wings taking home the 89-76 victory.
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 5, 2026
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