STWF Sports | ARLINGTON, Texas | June 28, 2026 — The Dallas Wings found their fight in the second half Sunday afternoon, but the hole they dug early proved too deep against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx.

Dallas fell 85-77 to Minnesota in front of a sold-out crowd at College Park Center, dropping to 11-8 on the season. The Lynx improved to 15-4, strengthening their position near the top of the WNBA standings.

The Wings trailed by as many as 23 points before storming back to make it a four-point game midway through the fourth quarter. But Minnesota answered with a timely 6-0 run and kept Dallas from completing the comeback.

Paige Bueckers led the Wings with 25 points, three rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. It marked her 10th 20-point game of the season, the fourth-most in the WNBA. Bueckers has now scored at least 25 points in three straight games, the longest active streak in the league.

Azzi Fudd added 21 points, one rebound, four steals and one block. After a quiet first half, Fudd erupted for 19 points after the break and hit four of Dallas’ seven three-pointers. Her defensive activity also stood out, as she recorded her fourth game this season with at least three steals, tied for the most among WNBA rookies.

Maddy Siegrist chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and two assists off the bench, while Jessica Shepard finished with eight points and a game-high 16 rebounds. It was Shepard’s fifth game this season with at least 15 boards, the most in the league.

The difference came from the perimeter early. Minnesota opened the game red-hot from three-point range, making 9 of 17 from deep in the first half. Dallas, meanwhile, struggled to find any rhythm, shooting just 1-of-14 from three over the first 20 minutes and scoring a season-low 29 first-half points.

The Resilient Performance of the Dallas Wings

The Lynx took control in the opening quarter. Awak Kuier scored first for Dallas, but Kayla McBride and Nia Coffey quickly answered with back-to-back threes. Minnesota stayed hot from the outside, knocking down seven triples in the first quarter, the most Dallas has allowed in a single quarter this season. The Lynx closed the period on an 8-0 run and led 28-16 after one.

Dallas showed a spark early in the second quarter. After Courtney Williams scored four straight for Minnesota, the Wings responded with a 7-0 run behind five points from Siegrist. That push trimmed the deficit to 32-23 and forced a Lynx timeout.

Minnesota steadied from there, closing the half on a 13-6 stretch to take a 45-29 lead into the locker room. Bueckers had 10 points at halftime, while Shepard already had 11 rebounds, but Dallas shot only 29.7 percent from the field in the half.

The game began to shift in the third quarter. Dallas opened the second half with buckets from Shepard and Fudd, cutting the deficit to 12. Minnesota answered with a 10-2 run and stretched the lead to 55-35, but the Wings refused to disappear.

Fudd hit two threes during an 11-5 Dallas response, helping the Wings cut the margin to 14. By the end of the quarter, Dallas had trimmed Minnesota’s lead to 64-54. Fudd scored 12 points in the period and added two steals, while the Wings held the Lynx to 0-of-2 from three after Minnesota’s hot first half.

Dallas kept pushing in the fourth. Fudd opened the quarter with a technical free throw after Olivia Miles was whistled for a technical foul. The Lynx briefly moved the lead back to 13, but Dallas responded with its best stretch of the afternoon.

Bueckers scored seven points during a 12-5 run, while Fudd added another three to bring the Wings within 73-69 with 5:15 remaining. The sold-out crowd had life, and Dallas had momentum.

Minnesota, however, answered like a first-place team.

The Lynx scored six straight points to rebuild a double-digit lead, 79-69, with 3:51 left. Dallas never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

Natasha Howard and Olivia Miles led Minnesota with 21 points apiece. Howard also grabbed 14 rebounds, while Miles added eight assists.

Dallas won the rebounding battle 38-36 and held advantages in fast-break points and bench scoring, but Minnesota controlled the paint and made enough plays late to hold off the rally.

The Wings and Lynx will meet one final time during the regular season on Aug. 9 in Minneapolis. Dallas now turns its attention to a road matchup against the Connecticut Sun on Thursday, July 2, at 7 p.m. CT. The game will air locally on KFAA and stream on Amazon Prime.