Wings Hold off Indiana for Big Victory
WNBA Dallas Wings

Wings Hold off Indiana for Big Victory

Published on August 21, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Last updated: August 21, 2026
Source: Dallas Wings News Release


Dallas, TX - Tonight, the Dallas Wings defeated the Indiana Fever, 91-85, in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,297 at American Airlines Center. With the win, the Wings improve to 21-16 on the season and secured their first regular-season series victory over the Fever since 2023, taking the 2026 series 2-1. The team is now one win away from matching the Wings record for victories in a season (22). The Wings also snap the Fever's five-game win streak, as they drop to 24-13 on the regular season.

Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings in the victory, notching a season-high 32 points, along with two rebounds, three assists and one steal in 34 minutes of action. With tonight's performance, the veteran guard eclipsed 5,000 points in her WNBA career, becoming the third fastest player to reach 5,000 points and 1,000 assists in WNBA history (261 games). Ogunbowale poured in 25 of her team-high 32 points in the second half, setting a season high for points in a half.

Jessica Shepard recorded a career-high 26 points and also added eight rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. She tallied 22 of her 26 points in the first half, tying her previous career high after 18 minutes of play. Shepard became the first player in Wings history to tally at least 10 field goals while shooting at least 90% from the field in a single half, as she finished the first half shooting 10/11 from the floor.

Awak Kuier made Wings history in the win, finishing with a career-high seven blocks to set a Wings franchise record for blocks in a game, breaking the previous standard of five, initially set in 2018 and matched by Kuier in 2021. She also added 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a career-high 35 minutes of play. Kuier made her presence felt early, recording four blocks in the second quarter alone, the most ever by a Wings player in a single quarter, and five in the first half, becoming the first player in Dallas history to reach that mark in a half. Kuier's seven-block outing was one of only three performances of seven or more blocks league-wide this season.

Paige Bueckers rounded out the Wings' double-digit scorers with 13 points, six rebounds and a team-high eight assists. Bueckers notched her eighth game of the year with eight or more assists, tying Shepard for the most by a Wings player this season. The outing also marked her 11th game this season with at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists, good for fifth across the WNBA.

Dallas finished the night shooting .472 from the field, .278 from three and .667 from the free-throw line, while the Fever shot .409 overall, .304 from three and .923 from the charity stripe. After being outscored 112-80 in the paint across the first two meetings, the Wings flipped the script Thursday night, winning the points in the paint battle 46-28. Dallas also outscored Indiana on second chance opportunities (16-10) and on the fast break (10-6).

Kelsey Mitchell paced the Fever with 37 points, one rebound, five assists and one steal. The veteran guard set a WNBA record with 21 straight 20-point games.

Up next, the Wings continue their home stretch on Sunday, August 23 at 3:00 p.m. CT hosting the Seattle Storm at College Park Center. The contest will air nationally on NBA TV and locally in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on KFAA.

Game Leaders

Points Rebounds Assists

Indiana Mitchell (37) Timpson (12) Clark (9)

Dallas Ogunbowale (32) Kuier, Shepard (8) Bueckers (8)

First Quarter: Dallas 18, Indiana 22

The Wings utilized a starting lineup of Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, Awak Kuier, Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard for the first time this season, marking the 10th different starting five Dallas has recorded this season. Shepard led the Wings early, matching her career high for points in a quarter with 11, going 5-6 from the field and grabbing three rebounds. Indiana led by eight, 18-10, after six minutes of play, but four-straight points from Shepard brought the deficit down to four, 20-16. Both teams shot just over 40 percent for the quarter but Indiana drained a pair of threes while the Wings went 0-4 from deep.

Second Quarter: Dallas 24, Indiana 20

Shepard sparked Dallas with five points to open the second and force an Indiana timeout as the Wings closed within one, 24-23, with 8:01 to go in the first half. The Fever turned it over on the next possession out of the timeout with a shot clock violation, with Bueckers drawing a foul on Sophie Cunningham to head to the line where she went 1-2 to tie the game for the second time, 24-24. A 5-0 Wings run gave Dallas its first lead of the game, 33-32, capped by a three from Kuier at 3:54. Kelsey Mitchell made a three on the Fever's next possession before Ogunbowale converted the and-one opportunity to put Dallas back on top, 36-35 with 3:27 to go in the half.

The Wings saw their lead grow to three before Mitchell drained a three for Indiana with 4.4 seconds left in the half to send the game into the break tied 42-42. Shepard matched her career high for points in a game with 22 in the first half, going 10-11 from the field, while Kuier matched the Wings record for blocks in a game with five over the first 20 minutes. Dallas shot .514 from the field to Indiana's .452 clip, while Shepard made her first three-pointer since the 2022 season.

Third Quarter: Dallas 24, Indiana 19

Ogunbowale came out of the locker room hot, making her first six attempts from the field as Dallas led by five, 59-54, with 2:53 left in the third. She went on to score 15 in the quarter - Ogunbowale's season high for points in a quarter - as the Wings outscored the Fever 24-19 in the quarter to lead 66-61 after three. Dallas held Indiana to .333 shooting, limiting Mitchell to six points after a 21-point first half for the Fever guard.

Fourth Quarter: Dallas 25, Indiana 24

A 10-6 start to the fourth quarter gave the Wings a nine-point lead, 76-67, and forced the Fever into a timeout with 6:42 to play in the game. Bueckers accounted for four of Dallas's 10 points to begin the fourth. Dallas kept Indiana at bay throughout the closing minutes, never allowing the Fever to get within five points en route to a 91-85 win. Ogunbowale notched 10 of her 32 points in the final frame to pace the Wings.

Check out the Dallas Wings Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 21, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central