‘We Gotta Quit Making Excuses’: Dallas Wings Fall To Golden State Valkyries 94-76

DALLAS — The Dallas Wings knew this current stretch would be challenging.

On Wednesday, they had endured a physical 96-92 road loss against the Washington Mystics. On Sunday, they will have to turn around and face the Minnesota Lynx, the WNBA’s top team.

But in between, there was the Golden State Valkyries, a team that entered Friday night’s matchup with the league’s best defensive rating. By the end of the first quarter, the Wings already looked like a team caught in the middle of a schedule that is beginning to test the limits of what they have left in the tank.

Golden State pulled away for a 94-76 victory at American Airlines Center, handing Dallas its fourth loss over their last five games. The Wings fought back at times, but never could find the defensive intensity or offensive rhythm necessary to come all the way back.

Wings coach Jose Fernandez was quick to reject fatigue as an excuse.

“Everybody in the league this time of the year has fatigue,” Fernandez said. “Shit, we gotta quit making excuses, man.”

His point was clear: fatigue may be a factor, but the Wings still have to execute. Friday, they didn’t do that.

Before the game, Alanna Smith acknowledged that this young Wings roster was entering a stretch of the season where fatigue and wear and tear become unavoidable.

“We’ve got a young team,” Smith said. “So learning to play through (fatigue)… you’ve got to dig deep and get a little bit more from what you’ve got in the tank because you’re going to have to. This is kind of practice for playoff basketball.”

Against Golden State, however, it looked like Dallas was being asked to dig deeper than it could manage.

The Wings started relatively well, attacking the offensive glass and creating opportunities against a Valkyries defense that has made life difficult for opponents all season. Paige Bueckers immediately provided a spark, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers straight off the tip-off and scoring 11 points in the first quarter.

But Golden State never lost their composure and wouldn’t let Dallas settle.

The Valkyries answered with their own 3-point shooting, moved the ball, and gradually forced the Wings into the kind of game that requires constant defensive effort. And unfortunately, Dallas struggled to provide it.

The fatigue was particularly noticeable on the defensive end. Dallas was late on rotations, struggled to contain one-on-one drives, and repeatedly allowed Golden State players to get into the paint. Fernandez said afterward that the team’s defensive effort wasn’t up to par.

“The ball’s not going into the basket, but one thing that you can always do is defend, right?” Fernandez explained. “Keep your guy in front of you, have backside rotations.”

Those things simply weren’t happening, and the offensive end wasn’t much better. Golden State shot 46.5% from the field, making 33-of-71 attempts. Dallas shot just 33.9%, going 21-for-62.

From 3-point range, the Wings were 7-of-25 (28%), while the Valkyries shot 35.3% on 12-of-34 shooting.

And then there were the free throws.

Dallas got to the line 38 times, a sign that the Wings were capable of attacking Golden State, but they converted just 27 of those attempts. The Valkyries, meanwhile, made 16-of-18.

Azzi Fudd’s Absence Leaves The Dallas Wings Short-Handed

With guard Azzi Fudd unavailable, the Wings were missing one of the players who can affect the game on both ends of the floor.

Fudd was ruled out with right knee soreness, with the team exercising an abundance of caution, and her absence was certainly felt.

Fudd’s offensive ability gives Dallas another shooter capable of creating movement on the floor. Defensively, she provides another player capable of applying pressure and making life difficult for opposing guards and wings.

On a night when Dallas desperately needed both shot-making and defensive effort, having Fudd on the sideline left an already exhausted roster with even less margin for error.

The Wings actually finished with a slight edge on the glass, 39-38, a notable improvement from a first half in which Golden State was dominating the rebounding battle.

But the poor shooting efficiency and lack of defensive execution ultimately overshadowed that advantage.

And perhaps the most glaring issue was how little offensive flow Dallas could generate.

The Wings’ offense was stagnant, to say the least. Possessions frequently devolved into one player receiving the ball while the other four stood and watched, leaving that player to come up with something on their own.

Golden State’s defense deserves credit for that. After all, the Valkyries came in as the league’s top defensive team for a reason. But Dallas also appeared to lack the energy and movement necessary to break through it.

Third-Quarter Lineup Changes And A 20-Point Deficit

Fernandez cycled through different lineups throughout the third quarter, searching for something that could change the game’s trajectory, but nothing stuck.

Golden State pushed its lead to 20 with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter, and the Wings entered the fourth down 74-58.

There was a stretch in the fourth when a group featuring Li Yueru, Maddy Siegrist, Aziaha James, and Odyssey Sims managed to chip away at the deficit. But just as Dallas began to generate some momentum, the lineup changed again.

By the time Golden State pushed the lead back to 16 and Dallas called timeout with 8:05 remaining, the game was effectively slipping away.

Despite a few more late surges, the Wings could never sustain enough momentum to make a serious run at the lead, and the Valkyries ultimately pulled away, handing the Wings a grueling 94-76 loss.

Golden State was led by Veronica Burton, who finished with 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Gabby Williams added 19 points and 4 assists. Kayla Thornton posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

For Dallas, Bueckers finished with 17 points, while James scored 13 and Smith had 11 points and 6 rebounds.

But those individual efforts weren’t enough to overcome the combination of Golden State’s defensive pressure and a complete lack of energy as the night wore on.

For a team already navigating the physical demands of the schedule, there is no easy reset. The schedule doesn’t care how tired a team is. This is the stretch of the season when the Wings are supposed to learn how to play through fatigue. Friday showed just how much they still have to work on.

fJames said the team has to take things day by day, stay together, and make sure everyone is recovering.

“Just staying prepared, getting to film, getting rest, recovery, just making sure the body is straight (is the main goal),” James said.

Fernandez wants something other than recovery, though. More than his team remaining confident in themselves, he placed emphasis on them also taking accountability for their shortcomings.

“I think confidence is great, but we also gotta take individual accountability,” Fernandez said. “I mean, they gotta get on each other a little bit more. It can’t just be the coaching staff (holding people accountable).”

If Dallas showed anything during Friday’s game, it’s that fatigue is real, wear and tear is evident, and the schedule is unforgiving.

But while the Wings don’t get to choose any of those variables, they can choose how they respond.

They can choose to make the extra defensive rotation when their legs aren’t fresh. They can choose to communicate when they’re out of breath. They can choose to be physical when they’re sore. They can choose to box out. They can choose not to let one bad possession become three or four or five.

And they have to do it quickly, as they are slowly sliding down the WNBA standings. For a team that has spent much of the season looking for consistency, the next two days may reveal just how much the Wings have learned about playing through adversity, and just how much they have left in the tank.