STWF Sports| ARLINGTON, Texas| September 17, 2026 — The Dallas Wings return to action Thursday night with postseason positioning still very much in play.
Dallas (24-16) will host the Los Angeles Sparks (15-25) on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. CT during the Wings’ annual Celebración Latina night in Arlington.
Key Players to Watch for the Dallas Wings
The matchup will air nationally on USA Network, with Carlan Gay handling play-by-play, Amy Audibert serving as analyst and Terrika Foster-Brasby reporting from the sideline. The game will also be broadcast locally in the Dallas-Fort Worth market on KFAA 29, featuring Ron Thulin on play-by-play, Kim Adams as analyst and Alexis Davis on the sideline.
Dallas enters the matchup having already secured a playoff berth before the World Cup break, but the final four games of the regular season will determine where the Wings land in the postseason bracket.
The Wings are tied for sixth place with the New York Liberty and Washington Mystics and sit two games behind the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever, who are tied for fourth at 26-14.
With four games remaining, every result carries added importance.
Dallas will also try to extend one of its best stretches of the season. The Wings have won four consecutive games, most recently defeating the Connecticut Sun 97-71 on Aug. 30 before the league paused for the World Cup.
In that victory, Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas with 18 points in 23 minutes, while Jessica Shepard continued her strong season with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. The performance marked Shepard’s 22nd double-double of the year.
The Wings will also be looking to complete a season sweep of Los Angeles.
Dallas leads the 2026 regular-season series 2-0 and has an opportunity to sweep the Sparks for the first time since 2021. In the most recent meeting between the teams on July 19 in Arlington, Dallas earned a 90-82 victory behind a 25-point performance from Paige Bueckers.
The matchup could provide another test of Dallas’ ability to maintain rhythm following the extended break.
The Wings entered the stoppage playing some of their best basketball of the season, combining efficient offense with improved balance across the rotation. Returning from a layoff, however, often places added emphasis on execution, conditioning and early-game energy.
Los Angeles arrives in Arlington with momentum of its own.
The Sparks have won two straight games and enter Thursday at 15-25. Veteran forward Nneka Ogwumike remains the centerpiece of the Los Angeles attack, averaging a team-leading 17.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
Ogwumike has also announced that the 2026 season will be her final year in the WNBA, adding another storyline to Thursday’s matchup.
For Dallas, the focus will be on quickly reestablishing its pre-break form.
The Wings have already punched their postseason ticket, but there is still plenty at stake with four games remaining. A win over Los Angeles would not only extend Dallas’ winning streak to five games, but also strengthen its position in a crowded playoff race.
Thursday night will therefore carry the feel of more than a simple regular-season return.
Between the playoff implications, the opportunity to sweep Los Angeles and the atmosphere surrounding Celebración Latina night, the Wings will look to turn their return from the World Cup break into another meaningful step toward the postseason.
