Wings Downed by Valkyries, 94-76
WNBA Dallas Wings

Wings Downed by Valkyries, 94-76

Published on August 7, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release


Dallas, TX - The Dallas Wings fell to the Golden State Valkyries 94-76 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Friday night. Paige Bueckers led a trio of double-digit scorers for Dallas with 17 points. The Wings drop to 19-13 on the year while Golden State improves to 22-9. Dallas and Golden State will meet one more time during the 2026 regular season, on Aug. 17 at Chase Center.

The Wings were playing at American Airlines Center for the second time this season and first since the team announced earlier this week that AAC would be their home for the 2027 season.

Aziaha James scored 13 - her most since tallying a season-high 18 on June 22 against Seattle. James got the start tonight after Azzi Fudd was a late scratch with right knee soreness. Alanna Smith added 11 points and six rebounds - her third double-digit outing in her last four games. Bueckers shot 6-12 from the field and 2-4 from three.

The Valkyries drained 12 threes on the night - the seventh time the Wings have allowed double-digit triples this season, falling to 2-5 in those contests. Dallas, which entered the game averaging over 22 assists per game, was credited with just eight on the night - the lowest tally for a Wings team since 2019.

Dallas shot .339 overall (21-62), .280 from three (7-25) and .711 from the free-throw line - which included 38 attempts from the charity stripe, most for the Wings since 2022. Golden State finished with .465 shooting (33-71), .353 from deep (12-34), and an .889 mark from the free-throw line (16-18). The Valkyries held the advantage in points in the paint (38-24) and fast break points (15-5), while Dallas led in second chance points (17-10) and rebounds (39-38). Veronica Burton (22) and Gabby Williams (19) combined for 41 points.

The Wings wrap up their stretch of six games in 12 days on Sunday when they visit the Minnesota Lynx. Tipoff at Target Center is set for 2:30 p.m. CT with the game airing nationally on NBC and streaming on Peacock.

Game Leaders

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Golden State

Burton (22)

Thornton (10)

Burton (7)

Dallas

Bueckers (17)

Shepard (11)

Sims (4)

First Quarter: Dallas 21, Golden State 26 The Wings utilized a starting lineup of Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, Aziaha James, Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith for the first time this season after Azzi Fudd was ruled out prior to tipoff. Bueckers buried back-to-back threes to open the game to set the tone early for Dallas. Golden State countered with a 10-2 run to take its first lead of the game, 10-8, with 5:40 left in the quarter. A pair of Smith free-throws tied the game before Odyssey Sims added 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to make it 11-10 Wings headed into the first timeout of the game (4:43).

The first was a back-and-forth battle with five ties and five lead changes. The Valkyries closed the quarter on a 6-0 run - all from Tiffany Hayes free-throws - to take a 26-21 lead after one. Bueckers had a game-high 11 points after 10 minutes - one shy of her career best for points in a first quarter. She had four of the Wings' five made field goals in the quarter.

Second Quarter: Dallas 15, Golden State 18 James opened the second with a layup for Dallas but back-to-back Golden State buckets stretched their lead to seven, 30-23, with 9:07 on the clock. Baskets for Smith and Sug Sutton got Dallas within four, 32-28, forcing a Valkyries timeout. Golden State scored four straight out of the timeout, forcing a Wings timeout as they trailed 36-28 with 3:52 to go in the half. Awak Kuier got her first bucket of the game with a much-needed three, then headed to the free-throw line on the next possession, making 1-of-2, to get the Wings within five, 37-32. The teams traded baskets with Dallas responding every time to stay within five before a Gabby Williams three with 3.2 seconds left gave the Valkyries an eight-point advantage at the half, 44-36. Williams had a game-high 10 points in the quarter towards 12 in the half. Bueckers led all scorers with 13 at the break while Kuier led Dallas with four in the quarter. The Wings were limited to 32.3-percent shooting through the first 20 minutes, while Golden State posted a 40.5-percent clip.

Third Quarter: Dallas 22, Golden State 30 Golden State started off hot in the third, making four of its first five attempts from the field, including 2-2 from three, to lead 54-38 early, forcing a Wings timeout less than two minutes into the frame. The Valkyries went on to shoot nearly 60-percent in the quarter, including 5-7 from three, while Dallas was limited to a 5-17 (.294) mark and just 1-6 from deep. The Wings deficit swelled to 20 before Li Yueru provided a spark off the bench and Dallas got within 14, 72-58, before closing the quarter down 16 - 74-58. Aziaha James had five points in the quarter for the Wings while Veronica Burton led Golden State with seven.

Fourth Quarter: Dallas 18, Golden State 20 Ogunbowale nailed a three in the first possession of the quarter to get back within 13, but Golden State countered every move the Wings had, often times with a three-pointer, to take away any momentum Dallas tried to build. The Wings got no closer than 14 over the final eight minutes, with James and Yueru scoring four points apiece in the final frame.

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