Wings Hold off Portland Down the Stretch
WNBA Dallas Wings

Wings Hold off Portland Down the Stretch

Published on July 23, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Dallas Wings News Release


Portland, OR - Playing their third game in four days, the Dallas Wings won at the Portland Fire 101-97 on Wednesday night at Moda Center. Jessica Shepard had her fifth career triple-double, while Arike Ogunbowale and Paige Bueckers combined for 45 points as Dallas won for the seventh time in its last eight games and improved to 18-9 on the year. With the loss, the Fire move to 11-16 on the season.

Ogunbowale finished with a game-high 24 points, including 15 in an explosive third quarter, adding three rebounds and six assists. Shepard filled the stat sheet with 18 points, a game-best 15 rebounds and team-high 10 assists for her league-best fourth triple-double of the year. Her five career triple-doubles rank second all-time in WNBA history. After missing Monday's game, Bueckers returned to tally 21 points, four rebounds and five assists - her 11th game of the year with at least 20 points and five assists - second most in the WNBA this year. Maddy Siegrist came off the bench to score 14 points and add five rebounds and two assists, while Azzi Fudd rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points and two steals.

On the night, Dallas shot .486 overall, .400 from three and .792 from the free-throw line while Portland finished with marks of .569, .385 and .765, respectively. The Wings held the advantage in second-chance points (16-4), fast break points (11-9) and rebounds (35-22), while the Fire led in paint points (48-32). Megan DiLeo led Portland with 21 points on 9-13 shooting.

Wednesday's game marked the final contest prior to the All-Star break. Bueckers, Shepard and Fudd will all compete this weekend in Chicago this weekend, with Shepard and Fudd participating in the Kia WNBA Shooting Stars event and State Farm WNBA 3-Point Contest, respectively, while Shepard and Bueckers were both selected All-Star Game starters.

Up next for the Dallas Wings, the Atlanta Dream visit College Park Center on Wednesday, July 29. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT with the game airing nationally on USA Network and locally in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on KFAA.

Game Leaders

Points Rebounds Assists

Dallas Ogunbowale (24) Shepard (15) Shepard (10)

Portland DiLeo (21) Carleton (5) Leite (11)

First Quarter: Dallas 18, Portland 17

With Paige Bueckers back after a one-game absence, the starting five included Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Arike Ogunbowale, Awak Kuier and Jessica Shepard for the 13th time this season. Dallas started off quiet from the field, making just one of its first eight attempts as Portland jumped out to a 9-3 lead. Fudd ended the drought for the Wings with their first three of the night, halting a 7-0 Fire run to make it 11-6 Portland just about halfway through the period.

A 10-0 Dallas run, including five points from Maddy Siegrist, gave the Wings their first lead of the game, 18-15, with 58.9 seconds left in the quarter. Portland snapped the scoreless streak to make it 18-17 after the first 10 minutes. Siegrist's five points tied for the game high. Dallas shot .353 from the field and made 3-of-9 from deep while Portland shot .429 overall and just 1-5 from three.

Second Quarter: Dallas 22, Portland 25

Siegrist opened the second with a triple as the Wings lead grew to four early on before Li Yueru stretched the advantage to six, 24-18. A 5-0 Portland spurt gave the home team a 33-32 lead, but Dallas countered the next possession with a Fudd midrange jumper to start an 8-2 run and regain a five-point lead, 40-35, with 1:58 left in the half. The Fire scored five straight to knot the game for the third time, 40-40, with 1:15 to go. Carla Leite broke the tie and gave Portland the two-point lead at the half, 42-40. Dallas shot .444 overall in the second and 1-3 from deep, while Portland posted a .556 clip, including 3-8 from three. Siegrist had five in the second towards a team-high 10 at the half.

Third Quarter: Dallas 36, Portland 27

The Wings offense came alive in the third quarter, shooting 62.5-percent from the field, including 4-9 from three, and assisting on 13 of 15 made field goals. Ogunbowale went 6-7 from the floor towards a game-high 15 points - her highest scoring quarter of the season. Shepard dished six assists, tying her career best for dimes in a quarter. Dallas's 36 points matched their season high for points in a quarter, while their 13 assists were one off the team record for dimes in a quarter. The Wings led from the 7:38 point on, with the seven-point lead, 76-69, being their largest of the game up until that point.

Fourth Quarter: Dallas 25, Portland 28

With her third three of the game, Bueckers stretched the Wings lead to double figures for the first time, 83-73, with 8:05 left, forcing a Portland timeout. Shepard made it a 12-point lead, 85-73, before four-straight Fire points got the game back to single digits, 85-77 with seven minutes left. Ogunbowale halted the Portland run with a triple, bringing her up to a game-high 22 points on the night - her fourth 20-point outing in her last five games.

Dallas led by 10, 91-81, with 3:10 left when Portland went on a 7-0 run to make it a one-possession game, 91-88, with 2:34 left. Shepard halted the run with a pair of free-throws to make it a five-point game, 93-88, before Carleton countered with a floater to bring it back to three, 93-90, with 2:05 remaining. Fudd gave Wings a little breathing room with a three off a feed from Shepard - her 10th assist of the night - giving Shepard her fifth career triple-double. A Bueckers three made it a nine-point game, 99-90, with 1:21 left before the Fire reeled off seven straight points to close within two, 99-97, with 32 seconds left. Bueckers missed on the Wings' next possession giving Portland a chance to tie or take the lead. Carleton's attempt with 3.4 seconds left rimmed out and Siegrist grabbed the board. She was fouled, making both free throws to clinch the win, 101-97, as Dallas improved to 5-0 on the year when scoring 100 or more.

Check out the Dallas Wings Statistics

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



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 23, 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