Arike & Paige Serve the Getback

The Dallas Wings rolled into Seattle with an optimistic starting five with three rookies starting featuring Arike Ogunbowale, Paige Bueckers, JJ Quinerly, Luisa Geiselsöder, and Li Yueru.

For the first 18 minutes, it looked like Seattle was about to mop the floor with them, and then the rest of the game happened. Dallas won this contest handily winning the contest 87-63 at Climate Pledge Arena. Meanwhile the 24-point margin of victory is the third-largest over Seattle in Wings franchise history. It’s also the largest margin of victory since a 27-point win on July 17, 2013. This game ended up being only the fifth time Dallas has beaten Seattle by 20 or more and the first since the Wings relocated to North Texas.

The first half of this game was one thing, and the second half was another beast.

Early, the Storm were flying around, making Dallas look like they showed up to a five-star banquet with nothing but a kid’s lunchbox. But that’s when the Wings, said “to hell with this” and Dallas flipped the switch harder than your Wi-Fi when you yell at it, and everything changed.

Down by double digits (10) late in the second quarter, Dallas ignited themselves and went on a huge run. What had started as a near-disaster quickly morphed into 17-0 run, and a comfortable cruise control victory.

Suddenly, the Wings were cooking, and Seattle was left standing in the rain without an umbrella.

Arike Ogunbowale finished with another 20 point game on the season shooting an efficient 7-of-12 from the floor and also breaking the franchise record for career field goals made along the way. She let her wrist do all the talking, raining shots like it was a monsoon.

Paige Bueckers wasn’t far behind, tossing in 14 points and six assists. With those assists, she tied Caitlin Clark’s WNBA record for fastest player to reach 300 points and 100 assists. That dawg energy? Yeah, it’s real—and it’s got Husky-level court vision to match.

 

“The way I play basketball is the way I try and live my life,” bueckers said. “Share… it’s a true reflection of what I want to be.”

Poetry. Also: buckets.

Dallas came into Seattle looking like a group project gone wrong. No outline, no plan, and one kid still stuck at 7-Eleven buying snacks. But somewhere between halftime and the third quarter, the Wings remembered they’re professionals—and flipped dysfunction into domination.

 

“I’m not sure we started the game with urgency,” said interim head coach Chris Koclanes. “But we responded with urgency so that’s great to see… focus small and think less… we fight and we stay together.”

Zen master vibes activated.

Swiss Army Haley, Bench Mob, and Group Therapy on the Glass

It wasn’t just Arike and Paige carrying the load. Dallas had nine players pull down at least three rebounds and four players dish out at least three assists. Coach Koclanes called it “gang rebounding”—basically everyone showed up to the rebound party and made sure Seattle wasn’t crashing it.

Off the bench, Haley Jones was everywhere. She dropped 10 points, handed out six assists, set the tempo, ignited the offense, and probably reminded a teammate to breathe somewhere along the way.

 

“She’s a Swiss Army knife,” Koclanes said. “You can plug her in anywhere and get major value.”

Haley, your new nickname is TSA because she can carry everything.

This was a full team effort, cliche right?

The Wings played like a squad that knew exactly what their roles were and executed them with extreme precision.

Wings Take Control & Leave Storm Out in the Rain

Li Yueru, who used to wear a Seattle Storm jersey, iced the game with a clutch corner three to push the lead to 77-58. After halftime, the Wings absolutely dominated, outscoring Seattle 53-27 and turning the Storm into a drizzle.

Seattle’s reserves got outscored for the 10th straight game, a streak that’s starting to feel less like a coincidence and more like a curse. With Skylar Diggins sitting out for personal reasons, the Storm looked lost in the sauce.

Dallas snapped a four-game losing streak and sent a loud message across the league: when the Wings share the rock, swarm the boards, and play with heart, they’re a nightmare no team wants to face.

This game was a reminder that even if the Wings stumble out the gate, their depth, grit, and sharpshooting can flip the script fast.

When Arike is cooking, Paige is orchestrating, and Haley’s Swiss Army hustle is in full effect, Dallas is a force that won’t be ignored.

Seattle may have shown up ready to mop a team with a losing record, but instead it was Dallas who took that same bucket, and then smashed it over the Storm’s heads.