The Dallas Wings kept rolling Monday night, beating the Seattle Storm 79-56 to win their third straight game and move to 6-3. The victory also gave Dallas its best start since the franchise moved from Tulsa to Dallas in 2015.
That is why the Seattle Storm result is drawing attention now: the Wings are suddenly tied with the Las Vegas Aces and Golden State Valkyries for second in the Western Conference, and the next test comes quickly. Dallas plays the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday at 9 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena, a road game that will show whether this run is real or just a hot week.
Jessica Shepard was part of the reason the Wings could control the night, even if the box score was quieter than her recent run. She played 23 minutes and finished with nine points, eight rebounds and one assist. Shepard has already recorded two triple-doubles this season, first in the 99-89 win over the Chicago Sky on May 20 and again in the 95-87 victory against the Aces on May 28, and she remains second in the league in rebounds per game at 11 and ninth in assists at 5.9.
Dallas did not need a perfect offensive night from Shepard because Aziaha James supplied one of the bigger boosts off the bench, scoring 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range and 3-of-4 at the line. It was a season high for James, who had scored 15 or more points six times as a rookie last year and once put up 28 against the Phoenix Mercury in July.
The Wings also had to navigate a roster issue that could matter over the next week. Awak Kuier's wrist injury will keep her out for a week, while Dallas tries to manage Shepard's workload during a six-game stretch without losing the balance that has made this start possible. Even after holding Seattle to 56 points and posting a 105 defensive rating, the bigger question is whether the Wings can keep the pace while leaning on Shepard, who has become central to both the rebound battle and the ball movement.
Friday brings a different kind of test. The Sparks are averaging 87.9 points per game, shooting 47% and getting double-figure scoring from four players, led by Kelsey Plum at 26.8 points per game, Dearica Hamby and Nneka Ogwumike at 15.3 apiece, and Rae Burrell at 10.4. Dallas is scoring 87.8 points per game itself, but the next few nights will say more about its staying power than Monday's win did.
