Phoenix Gives Wings a Long Night
July 8, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release
Phoenix, AZ - The Dallas Wings fell at the Phoenix Mercury 102-72 Monday night at PHX Arena. JJ Quinerly led four Wings in double figures with a career-high 18 points, sparked by a career-best four made threes. Dallas falls to 6-14 on the year with the loss while Phoenix improves to 13-6.
Aziaha James scored in double figures for the seventh straight game with 15 points. Teaira McCowan tallied nine points while her season-high 10 rebounds tied for the game high. Paige Bueckers and Myisha Hines-Allen each added 11 points.
Game Leaders
Points Rebounds Assists
Dallas Quinerly (18) McCowan (10) Quinerly (5)
Phoenix Whitcomb (36) Thomas, Mack (10) Thomas (15)
First Quarter: Dallas 19, Phoenix 28
The Wings featured a starting lineup of JJ Quinerly, Paige Bueckers, Aziaha James, Luisa Geiselsöder and Li Yueru, marking the second straight game the first five featured four rookies.
Sami Whitcomb was unstoppable for Phoenix in the first, scoring 19 points off 7-9 shooting, including 4-5 from three. Led by Whitcomb's clip, the Mercury shot 55 percent from the field and 50 percent from three, while the Wings were limited to 40 percent from the field and just 20 percent from three. Seven of eight Dallas players that entered the game scored, but no one made more than two field goals as Bueckers led the Wings with five points.
Second Quarter: Dallas 20, Phoenix 24
The Mercury's advantage grew to 12 with six minutes left in the half before the Wings responded with a 6-0 run sparked by James. After Dallas closed within six, 37-31, Phoenix responded with its own 6-0 spurt to go ahead 12, 43-31, before leading by as many as 15, 52-37. The Mercury took a 52-39 lead into the break.
The Wings shot 42.1 percent in the quarter but 0-3 from three. Whitcomb added 10 more points for Phoenix, which was limited to 38.9 percent shooting, including 2-6 from deep. Whitcomb had 29 first-half points to lead all scorers, while Bueckers (11) and James (10) each finished the first 20 minutes in double figures for the Wings.
Third Quarter: Dallas 17, Phoenix 30
A 19-0 Mercury run saw the home team's lead grow to 29 at 71-42. Myisha Hines-Allen halted the run with a three to bring her to 11 on the night. Soon after, Teaira McCowan made her second career three-pointer after being left wide open at the top of the key. Dallas shot 4-8 from three but was limited to 27.8-percent shooting overall. Phoenix shot 50 percent from the field and 4-10 from three. McCowan led the Wings with eight points in the frame, including the triple.
Fourth Quarter: Dallas 16, Phoenix 20
The Wings posted an 8-0 run which they started at the end of the third and carried into the start of the fourth, forcing a Phoenix timeout. The Mercury countered with a 12-5 run as Dallas got no closer than 25 the rest of the way. Quinerly tallied eight points in the fourth to lead all scorers, while James added five. Dallas shot 33.3 percent in the frame compared to the Mercury's 43.8 mark.
On the night, Dallas shot 36 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and just 10-12 from the free-throw line for its second-fewest attempts in a game this season. Phoenix shot 47.4 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from three, including 14 makes, and 16-25 from the charity stripe. The Wings were hamstrung by 18 turnovers which Phoenix turned into 24 points. The Wings outrebounded the Mercury (44-43) for the third straight game, while the Mercury led in points in the paint (38-34), second-chance points (12-10) and fast break points (14-6).
Whitcomb led all scorers with 36 points, while Alyssa Thomas tallied a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists.
Dallas remains on the road to face the Chicago Sky on Wednesday. Tipoff at Wintrust Arena is slated for 7 p.m. CT, with the game airing locally on KFAA29 and streaming on WNBA League Pass.
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