DALLAS — The Dallas Wings had two different offensive standouts to get them across the finish line against the Indiana Fever Thursday night, and neither of them was named Paige Bueckers.
Forward Jessica Shepard took the lead early, putting together one of the best halves of her career. Then, after halftime, guard Arike Ogunbowale took over.
The result was a 91-85 Wings win over the Indiana Fever in front of a sold-out American Airlines Center crowd, with Shepard and Ogunbowale combining for 58 points.
Jessica Shepard Gives Dallas Wings Early Spark
Shepard was nearly unstoppable in the first half, scoring 22 of her career-high 26 points before halftime. She shot 10-for-11 from the field in the first half, becoming the first player in Wings history to make at least 10 field goals while shooting at least 90% from the floor in a half.
By the eight-minute mark of the second quarter, Shepard already had 16 points. She continued to punish Indiana inside and gave Dallas the offensive spark it needed as the Fever built an early lead.
“I think I just wanted to be more aggressive,” Shepard said. “Coming off the Golden State game and coming back from injury, (I am) just kind of finding my footing again and my teammates did a great job of finding me in those openings.”
Shepard’s hot start helped keep Dallas within striking distance before the Wings eventually tied the game at 42-42 heading into halftime. And while her scoring slowed down after the break, her impact was already solidified.
Then it was Ogunbowale’s turn.
Arike Ogunbowale Takes Over After Halftime
After scoring just seven points in the first half, Ogunbowale came out of the locker room and immediately flipped a switch. She made her first six shots of the third quarter and scored 15 points in that period alone, helping Dallas take a 66-61 lead heading into the fourth.
She continued that production in the final quarter, scoring 10 more points to finish with a season-high 32 points.
The veteran guard’s 25 second-half points were exactly what Dallas needed, especially with Bueckers struggling to find her shot. Bueckers finished with 13 points but shot just 5-for-16 from the field, with Indiana consistently getting the ball out of her hands.
With Bueckers unable to provide her usual offensive efficiency, the Wings needed other players to step up, and they got that from two of their veterans.
Ogunbowale’s performance also came with a milestone. Her 32 points pushed her past 5,000 career points, making her the third-fastest player in WNBA history to reach 5,000 points and 1,000 assists.
“It’s definitely special,” Ogunbowale said. “I mean, there’s a lot of greats that have been in this league, a lot of people that have been scoring and to be in the record books so far and to do it with the franchise that drafted me is definitely special.”
But the milestone was secondary to the win for the team, especially after Dallas has struggled against some of the league’s top teams recently.
“I think…we wanted to come in and kind of take it personal,” Shepard said. “We’ve been on a little skid here and we wanted to make sure that we showed up and put together 40 minutes.”
That is exactly what Dallas got from its two leading scorers Thursday night. Shepard gave the Wings a huge offensive spark to start the game, and Ogunbowale followed with a second-half takeover that kept Dallas in control.
Although Indiana made it difficult for Bueckers to get comfortable, Shepard and Ogunbowale stepped up and made sure Dallas didn’t need to rely on just one offensive creator to finish the game.
