A finale with nothing left to hide
Dallas closed its season the way it opened plenty of others this year: with Paige Bueckers taking over. The Wings beat the Seattle Storm 103-91 on Wednesday in a game that meant everything for one side and nothing for the other, and it showed. Bueckers scored 25, including a three-pointer with 57.8 seconds left that put the result out of reach, while Arike Ogunbowale added 23.
Jessica Shepard was the quieter story of the night. Her line, 20 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, was her sixth triple-double of the season, a total that says as much about Dallas’ offense as any of the scoring totals around her. Awak Kuier chipped in 14 and Maddy Siegrist added 11 off the bench.
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Seventh seed, seventh win in eight games
Dallas improved to 27-17 and clinched the No. 7 seed once New York lost to Atlanta earlier in the night. It is the Wings’ seventh victory in their last eight games, and the win total itself is now a franchise record for a single season, one year removed from Bueckers claiming Rookie of the Year honors. Their first-round opponent will be either the Golden State Valkyries or the Las Vegas Aces, decided on the final day of the regular season.
Seattle’s night went the opposite direction. Dominique Malonga scored 29 with 8 rebounds, Awa Fam added 22 and Flau’jae Johnson had 21, but the Storm finished 8-36, the worst record ever posted in the WNBA’s 15-team era. Five straight losses closed the year, part of a stretch of 19 defeats in their final 21 games.
A back-and-forth first half masked how it ended
Dallas raced to a 29-12 lead after the first quarter, then watched Seattle shoot 81.2 percent in the second to cut the gap to seven at the break, 49-42. The Wings pulled away again after that, leading 76-63 entering the fourth before Bueckers and Ogunbowale shut the door for good.
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