The Dallas Wings were back home Thursday night, set to face the Phoenix Mercury at College Park Center at 8 p.m. after a 100-76 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night. Paige Bueckers returned from that game with 23 points, but Dallas came in needing a sharper answer from an offense that had been one of the WNBA's best.
That is why Mercury vs wings was drawing attention again so quickly. Dallas entered the matchup second in the league in points per game at 89.4 and fourth in field goal percentage at 46.1%, then managed only 76 points and 38% shooting against Minnesota while turning the ball over 12 times. Phoenix arrived with its own reasons to reset after an 87-81 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday night, even though it had opened its four-game road trip with back-to-back wins.
The Wings had leaned on offense to carry them early, and the night in Minnesota showed how much can change when the shots stop falling. Olivia Miles made Dallas pay in that loss, scoring 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, while adding six assists and seven rebounds. Azzi Fudd managed only six points on 2-of-12 shooting, a sharp drop after she had posted two 20-point games in wins against the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces. Dallas had been talking about defense at the start of the season, but the immediate problem on Tuesday was simpler: too many empty possessions and too few clean looks.
Phoenix presents a different sort of test. The Mercury were ranked fourth in the WNBA in steals per game, so any sloppiness from Dallas could turn into transition points in a hurry. That makes Thursday less about carrying Tuesday's frustration forward and more about whether the Wings can stabilize at home before the road problems in front of them grow bigger. The next answer comes at tipoff, and Dallas will have to find it fast.
