Wings Crush Seattle in Commissioner's Cup Opener
WNBA Dallas Wings

Wings Crush Seattle in Commissioner's Cup Opener

Published on June 1, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release


Arlington, TX - Tonight the Dallas Wings (6-3) defeated the Seattle Storm (3-7), 79-56, in the team's first Commissioner's Cup contest of the season. With the win, the Wings improve to 6-3, the best start for the franchise over the first nine games since moving to North Texas in 2016. The Wings played in front of their fourth regular-season home sellout crowd of the year at College Park Center on Monday night.

The 23-point victory matches Dallas's largest of the season and fifth largest margin of victory across the WNBA this season. The Wings are currently on a three-game win streak, the team's first since the 2024 season (8/25-8/30/24).

Aziaha James notched a season-high 18 points, three rebounds and one assist to lead the Wings in the win. The sophomore guard finished 7/14 from the floor, including 1/2 from beyond the arc in 17 minutes of action off the bench.

Paige Bueckers filled the stat sheet in the effort, notching 10 points, a team- and career-high tying nine rebounds, a team-best seven assists and one steal in 24 minutes of play. She eclipsed 850 points and 240 assists in her career in the win, tying Caitlin Clark for the fastest player to hit those stat marks in WNBA history (45 games).

Arike Ogunbowale, Maddy Siegrist, Jessica Shepard and Azzi Fudd each finished with nine points for Dallas. Siegrist grabbed a season-high nine boards, six of which were on the offensive glass. The Wings tallied a season-best total 48 rebounds and 18 offensive rebounds in the contest. The Wings have only grabbed 48+ rebounds in a regular season game on 11 occasions since moving to North Texas.

Dallas held Seattle to a season-low 56 points in the game, the lowest point-total across the league in 2026. The Wings have held opponents to 56 points or lower in just four regular season games since 2016. Dallas won the battle in the paint (36-24), on second chance opportunities (25-6) and from the bench (33-20).

Rookie guard Flau'jae Johnson led the Storm in the effort with a double-double. She notched 16 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 25 minutes of action. Natisha Hiedeman added 11 points for Seattle.

With the win, Young Leaders, Strong City, the Wings' Commissioner's Cup beneficiary, will receive $3,000. The Wings and Storm will meet next for their second of four regular-season meetings on Monday, June 22 at 9:00 p.m. CT in Seattle.

Next up for Dallas is a road contest against the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday, June 5 at 9:00 p.m. CT. The game will air nationally on ION.

Game Leaders

Points Rebounds Assists

Dallas James (18) Bueckers, Siegrist (9) Bueckers (7)

Seattle Johnson (16) Johnson (10) Hiedeman, Holmes, Samuelson (2)

First Quarter: Dallas 16, Seattle 10

Dallas featured a starting lineup of Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Arike Ogunbowale, Maddy Siegrist and Jessica Shepard in their ninth game of the regular season. A deep triple by Fudd sparked a 7-0 run in the first 2:15 for the Wings. The run saw Dallas hold Seattle to 0-of-8 shooting from the field and three Bueckers assists. After Seattle cut the lead to one point, Dallas built their lead back to six to end the first frame. Shepard led all scorers with six points on 3-of-3 shooting while grabbing four rebounds. Bueckers grabbed three boards and dished out four dimes to go along with her three points. Both teams struggled from the floor in the opening quarter, with Dallas hitting 30% of their shots but held Seattle to just 22.2%.

Second Quarter: Dallas 20, Seattle 15

Dallas carried an 11-2 run between stanzas, 2:15 in the first to 7:10 in the second, to extend their lead to 10 points, 22-12. Aziaha James added four points during the run, speeding up the Storm's defense on each bucket. Six Dallas players added points in the quarter, with five different players scoring the first five baskets of the quarter.

Dallas maintained a 9-1 advantage on the offensive glass and 25-17 in total rebounds at the half. Maddy Siegrist grabbed three offensive boards while Ogunbowale and Alysha Clark each grabbed two in the opening half. The Wings held the Storm to 25 points in the first half, a season-low in first half scoring by a Wings opponent. Bueckers stuffed the stat sheet with a team-high 10 points, five rebounds and six assists through two quarters. Shepard added eight points and six rebounds, while Siegrist chipped in five points and six rebounds to give Dallas a 36-25 lead at the break.

Third Quarter: Dallas 21, Seattle 12

The Wings extended their lead to 19, 48-29, thanks to a 12-4 run to start the third frame. Ogunbowale and Fudd combined for nine points during the run. The Wings gathered their season-high 13th offensive rebound of the game with the rebound at 4:47. James poured in seven straight points for the Wings, growing the Dallas lead to 24, 55-31, and pushing her into double figures scoring with 11 points. James scored all seven points in three minutes of play in the quarter.

Seattle's 12 points was the lowest total by a Wings opponent in the third quarter on the season. The Wings held the Storm to 27.8% shooting from the field in the stanza.

Fourth Quarter: Dallas 22, Seattle 19

Clark added four straight points for the Wings, keeping the Dallas lead at 21, 64:43, with 6:29 remaining. Siegrist grabbed her eighth rebound of the game at 3:51, marking a season-high. Five of her rebounds came on the offensive glass. Odyssey Sims dished her third assist of the game through traffic to a cutting James, who notched five straight points to push the Dallas lead to 27, 73-46. The Wings outscored the Storm, 22-19, in the final frame to close out the 79-56 victory. James scored seven of her 18 points in the final quarter to lead Dallas.

Check out the Dallas Wings Statistics

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