Wings Hit the Wall — But the Season Isn’t Over…yet

The Dallas Wings just got a taste of what happens when you take your foot off the gas in August basketball, and let’s just say that it wasn’t pretty. Dallas did the hard work early and built an 11-point halftime lead over the Washington Mystics, looked in control, and then got steamrolled in the second half.

Final: 91–78, their fifth straight loss.

The bad news?

They gave up 60 points after halftime.

The good news? They’ve still got time — but that window is shrinking fast….like faster than the Flash entering the speed force fast.

A Collapse That Shouldnt  Happen

Dallas led this game with a commanding 41–30 lead to enter half which includes a 13–0 run in the first half.

Paige Bueckers was in rhythm, Arike Ogunbowale was finding her spots, and the defense looked engaged. But Kiki Iriafen decided it was her night, dropping 23 points and 10 boards, while Sonia Citron poured in 17 of her 18 in the second half.

“You can’t give up 60 points in the 2nd half and expect to win a game,” coach chris koclanes said.

Koclanes is right. In the final month, there’s no room for another 20-minute disappearing act. The Mystics got whatever they wanted offensively, and by the time Citron hit a step-back 27-footer in the fourth, it felt like the air was gone from the building. That’s the kind of swing that can bury you in a playoff race if you let it happen again.

Koclanes Wants Four Quarters, Not Flashes

Koclanes didn’t sugarcoat the state of things:

“We have to put 40 minutes together…we’ve got to put 4 quarters together.”

Koclanes has talked all season about balancing experimentation with identity — finding something the team can hang its hat on. Now, with just weeks left, the Wings have to pick their formula and ride it. He challenged his players to stay steady no matter the scoreboard:

“Never too high, never too low. They need an anchor as this season’s been up and down and tumultuous.”

Translation: stop playing like the first half and second half are two different teams.

Paige’s Faith, Maddy’s Focus

For as turbulent as the season has been, Paige Bueckers reached yet another WNBA milestone in her historic rookie campaign. Bueckers this game tied Ruthie Bolton for the fourth-longest streak of double-digit scoring games to start a career (25) — but her words after the game said more than the numbers.

“We’ve talked about it enough, we just need to put action behind our words.”

She’s not wrong. The time for postgame frustration is over. The Wings have a month to lock in and make sure these aren’t the final chapters of their season.

Maddy Siegrist put it simply:

“We let it [the officiating] affect us too much…we have to be able to move on from that.”

Moving on — from calls, from bad quarters, from losing streaks — is the only way Dallas turns this skid into a playoff push.

This loss hurt, but it can be the one that forces the shift. The Wings don’t need to win every remaining game to make noise in the postseason — but they do need to start stringing together full 48-minute performances.

If this was the gut punch that finally wakes them up, it might be the most important L of the year.