Alanna Smith Is Cleared To Play, But Not Yet Back To Her Old Role

ARLINGTON, Texas — Alanna Smith is listed as available for Wednesday against the Atlanta Dream. The Dallas Wings forward had carried a probable designation with a right leg injury.

“We’ll see how she feels tonight and what kind of minutes she can handle,” Wings coach Jose Fernandez said before the game. “We’ve been without her for a while, and we’ve leaned heavily on Li Yueru, Maddy Siegrist, Awak Kuier, Jessica Shepard, and Alysha Clark in the frontcourt. She’s not just going to step back in as the first post player off the bench tonight. It’s going to take more than two practices after the All-Star break for her to get fully back into rhythm.”

Smith practiced Monday and took part in the full session Tuesday.

“We’ll see how she does tomorrow, how she feels after tomorrow, and then after shootaround,” Fernandez said Monday.

“Yeah, she practiced the whole day,” Fernandez said Tuesday. “Hopefully she gets through shootaround, and then we’ll hear from the medical staff about what she can and can’t do tomorrow.”

Smith has appeared in 20 of Dallas’ 27 games, with seven starts. She averages 3.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 14.2 minutes, shooting 38.5% from the field and 20.0% from three-point range.

She spent time in concussion protocol earlier in the season and was upgraded to available on July 2 ahead of the game against the Connecticut Sun.

“We also haven’t had a healthy Alanna Smith for much of the season, so it’s great to see her back practicing after the All-Star break,” general manager Curt Miller said Monday.

Alanna Smith Against Atlanta

Smith played both meetings with the Dream and went 2-of-11 from the field, missing all eight of her three-point attempts. She finished with 4 points and 8 rebounds across the two games.

Her minutes dropped between them. She played 26:42 in the May 12 game in Arlington and 10:18 in Atlanta on May 22.

Atlanta won both. Angel Reese averaged 12.5 rebounds against Dallas in the series, and 5.5 of them came on the offensive end. In the Arlington game, she had 16 rebounds, 8 of them offensive.

Brionna Jones was out with a right knee injury for both meetings and has since returned to the Atlanta rotation.

“For us, we have to be solid in transition, stop the point of attack, protect the paint, and force one shot before securing the rebound,” Fernandez said before Wednesday’s game. “Offensively, we have to get to the rim more and earn more free throws.”

Fernandez said the two May losses came before the team had settled, with Dallas three regular season games into the year at the first meeting.

The Frontcourt Rotation

Dallas has moved its frontcourt around all season. Awak Kuier averages 5.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists across 24 games. Li Yueru has played 19 games at 9.3 minutes a night. Maddy Siegrist shoots 44.9% from three-point range.

Alysha Clark averages 2.0 points in 8.7 minutes across 18 games. Jessica Shepard leads the WNBA at 12.0 rebounds a game and has a double-double in seven straight.

“As you get closer to the end of the year and the playoffs, the rotation naturally shrinks,” Fernandez said Tuesday. “A lot of it comes down to versatility, and sometimes it’s opponent-based as well. But as we get toward the end of the season, most teams are going to play eight or nine players.”

“Defensively, we’ve improved, but we’re still not where we want to be from a championship standard,” Fernandez said Wednesday. “We need to do a better job keeping the ball in front of us, defending one-on-one, bringing help earlier, making multiple efforts, and collectively finishing possessions by rebounding.”

The Opals And The World Cup

Basketball Australia named Smith to the final 12 athletes selected to represent the Australian Opals at the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin from Sept. 4-13.

Smith helped the Opals to a 5-0 record at the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Istanbul. She was named to the All-Star Five at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Australia won a bronze medal.

Dallas plays 13 games before the World Cup break and four after it. Fernandez said Wednesday that the players already have their schedule for those two weeks, including practice days and days off.

Dallas is 18-9 with 17 games left. Wednesday’s tip-off against Atlanta is 7:00 p.m. CT at College Park Center. The game airs on USA Network, KFAA, and Victory+.