For the Dallas Wings, Sunday’s clash with the Las Vegas Aces started with promise, but ended in frustration. By the final buzzer, a 106-87 defeat left Paige Bueckers with more questions than answers—and sent a blunt message to her teammates.
After a strong opening quarter, Dallas watched its momentum vanish as the Aces unleashed an unprecedented three-point barrage, hitting 18 threes—the most ever against the Wings and the second-most in WNBA regular season history. The onslaught crushed any hope of a comeback, handing Dallas its third consecutive loss.
A’ja Wilson dominated with 34 points, finding ways to score regardless of defensive efforts. Even Maddy Siegrist, quietly having a career night with 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting, six rebounds, and multiple steals and blocks, acknowledged Wilson’s unstoppable presence.
“An unbelievable player,” Siegrist said. “No matter how you guard her, she consistently scores. We need to limit her touches, especially when she’s in the low or mid-range.”
Bueckers, however, shifted focus from personal stats to team accountability. Extending her streak of double-digit scoring games to 28, she refused to dwell on positives, instead pointing to the Wings’ defensive failures.
“Limiting free throws, limiting threes,” Bueckers said. “We did okay keeping them out of the paint, but they hit too many threes.”
Her assessment was starkly accurate: the Aces shot 53% from deep, while Dallas managed just 3-of-17. Despite controlling the boards 37-28, the Wings were repeatedly outmaneuvered on rotations, often leaving shooters wide open.
“So keeping people in front, avoiding constant rotations and scrambles, staying disciplined in the paint, and paying closer attention to the three-point line—these are the areas we must improve,” Bueckers concluded.
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