ARLINGTON, Texas — Jessica Shepard did not score in the first half Thursday night and finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists for her fifth triple-double of the season, the most in the WNBA. The Dallas Wings beat the Los Angeles Sparks 97-77 in front of a sold-out crowd at College Park Center after the teams went into halftime tied 44-44.
It was the fifth straight win for Dallas, which improved to 25-16 and tied the franchise record for wins in a season. The 2003 Detroit Shock also won 25 games, going 25-9 on the way to the WNBA championship. Dallas outscored Los Angeles 53-33 after halftime and finished a 3-0 sweep of the season series, its first over the Sparks since 2021.
Shepard now has six career triple-doubles. Her five this season are the third-most by any player in a single WNBA season.
Over the final two quarters, Shepard scored 4 points in the third and 9 in the fourth. Her 12 assists were a game high.
“It was a very odd way to get there, but obviously a great end result,” Shepard said. “No, I mean, in the first half, obviously my teammates were putting the ball in the hoop, and it was making it pretty easy to just make the right reads. And then Coach did some things in the second half just to be able to get me going, and obviously my teammates set me up.”
Paige Bueckers scored a game-high 19 points in her first game back from the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Germany. She made all 5 of her shots in the first quarter for 10 points. It was the 23rd time this season Bueckers has led Dallas in scoring.
Six Wings finished in double figures. Maddy Siegrist added 12 points and Arike Ogunbowale scored 11. Kitija Laksa had 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting in her Dallas debut, and Aziaha James scored 10 off the bench.
Dallas Wings Break Halftime Tie Against Los Angeles Sparks
For the first time this season, Dallas started Bueckers, Ogunbowale, Awak Kuier, Siegrist, and Shepard. Siegrist got the start with forward Alanna Smith unavailable. The Wings scored the first 5 points on a Bueckers mid-range jumper and a Siegrist 3-pointer.
Eight lead changes and six ties later, the first quarter ended 25-25. Bueckers’ 10 points in the period gave her five double-figure opening quarters this season. It was the second time in her career she did it without missing a shot. James scored 5 off the bench in the quarter, and Rae Burrell had 6 for Los Angeles.
Dallas shot 35.3% in the second quarter, and Los Angeles shot 34.8%. Bueckers, James, and Alysha Clark scored 5 points apiece in the period, and Bueckers took 15 points into halftime to lead all scorers. It was only the second time this season Dallas went into the break tied.
Dallas went 18 days between games during the FIBA break, from Aug. 30 until Thursday. Los Angeles was coming off the same break.
“The first half, it was tough. You can tell we hadn’t played in two weeks, and the officials hadn’t officiated for a while either, so it was a pretty good balance,” Wings coach José Fernández said. “So I think everybody was a little rusty from not doing stuff. But yeah, I would have turned the TV off at halftime. I would have changed the channel.”
“Ball was getting thrown around everywhere. There was no floor balance. There was bad shots. But sign of a good team is how you respond in the next 20 minutes,” Fernández continued. “And they came out of the locker room and did some very, very good things. So also having six players in double figures, 31 assists, Jess got a triple-double again, and we were able to rest Paige and Arike tonight as well, so that’s good.”
Los Angeles scored first after halftime. A 7-2 Dallas run made it 56-51 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter, and the Sparks were back within 58-56 with under three minutes to play. From there, the Wings closed the period on an 11-2 run to lead 69-58. Kuier blocked 3 shots in the quarter and hit the 3-pointer that put Dallas up nine late in it.
Several of the first-half turnovers became wide-open layups for Los Angeles in transition, Bueckers said. The Wings committed 6 of them in the second quarter, when the Sparks committed 1.
“Rust was to be expected. We haven’t played together in like two or three weeks. So it was kind of the way that we responded to it,” Bueckers said. “And all of them were like, I mean, devastating turnovers, because they were like wide-open layups on fast break. But we stayed composed. We stayed together. And we didn’t let that like frustrate us and take us out of our game.”
“But once we slowed down, obviously still shaking out the rust. It’s our first game back, so just staying composed through it,” Bueckers continued. “And trying to get good possessions on offense where we’re changing sides of the floor helped us slow down a little bit.”
Dallas outscored Los Angeles 48-38 in the paint and 20-11 in fast-break points. The Wings also outrebounded the Sparks 46-27.
“Honestly, going from FIBA where, I mean, we talked about it at USA, it’s like you’re playing in mud and the paint is always clogged. There’s no defensive three seconds in the lane,” Bueckers explained. “So seeing this was kind of like eye-opening, where teams have to clear the paint. There’s not as much help-side and weak-side defenders clogging the lane.”
“My teammates are doing a really good job of seeing me moving without the ball, getting me downhill opportunities, the plays that we have. So just trying to be aggressive that way,” Bueckers continued. “But honestly, though, seeing the difference between FIBA basketball and this, there is definitely a difference for sure.”
Ball handlers in FIBA play deal with more hands on them and less freedom of movement, Fernández said. Bueckers helped the United States win the World Cup title in Berlin.
“I think the one thing that Paige will talk to you about was the physicality, right? And the freedom, the lack of freedom of movement too, the FIBA stuff, right? The hands-on ball handlers, it’s just much more physical game,” Fernández explained. “So, but that’s something that Paige has adjusted to, and what she did in the offseason, right? With her getting stronger, being able to post up, being able to absorb contact.”
“So it’s a credit to her and what she did in the offseason to withstand that type of physicality that she saw in Berlin,” Fernández continued. “And what she’s seen all year here in the W.”
Dallas made 8 of its first 9 shots in the fourth quarter and led 89-65 with 4:33 remaining. The Wings rested their starters for much of the period, and every available player on the roster got into the game.
The Wings finished with a season-high 31 assists and assisted on 10 of their 12 field goals in the fourth quarter. Haley Jones had a season-high 4 assists in 4 minutes off the bench.
“That’s how we played the entire season. Really selfless, changing sides of the floor, getting out in transition, making the extra pass. Really not caring about individual statistics and playing team basketball,” Bueckers said. “And we felt like we could have had a lot more assists and a lot less turnovers.”
“But cleaning those up, we’ll look at the film. And, I mean, those are just little mistakes that we made throughout the game that we’ll get better at,” Bueckers continued. “But I feel like that’s just the tendency that we kind of always play to.”
Dallas also blocked a season-high 11 shots. Kuier had 6 of them, her second game this season with at least 6 blocks. Siegrist picked up 2 fouls in the first half.
“You think about the two threes that she hit, the first one in transition and then in the second half, right, trailing. She just picked up those two fouls in that first half,” Fernández said. “But I thought she got a lot of deflections, her hands, she was active.”
“And that’s what Maddy gives you, her versatility to play multiple positions and her being able to stretch the floor,” Fernández continued. “And I thought her and Awak stretched the floor tonight.”
Dallas shot 50.7% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range, and 78.6% at the free-throw line. Los Angeles shot 37.2% from the field, 28.0% from 3-point range, and 63.2% at the line. The Sparks held a 15-11 edge in second-chance points.
Nneka Ogwumike led Los Angeles with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and a team-high 7 rebounds. Dearica Hamby added 14 points, and Burrell finished with 12.
Kitija Laksa Debuts As Odyssey Sims Leaves With Knee Injury
Dallas signed Laksa to a rest-of-season contract on Aug. 25 after the WNBA granted the Wings a Season-Ending Injury Exception for rookie Azzi Fudd. Laksa played four seasons at South Florida for Fernández and was the 11th overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft. In 2025, she averaged 5.9 points in 33 games for the Phoenix Mercury.
Shepard and Laksa were teammates at Beretta Famila Schio in Italy during the 2025-26 season. Laksa was the Serie A Finals MVP when Schio won the Italian title in 2026.
“I’ve played with Kit overseas, so I wasn’t surprised by her performance today, but obviously just adds a great floor spacer for us, a knockdown shooter,” Shepard explained. “So it’s really good to have here.”
James scored all 10 of her points in the first half, 5 in each of the first two quarters. Dallas drafted James 12th overall in 2025.
“We’ll get to her, but I thought Aziaha gave us some very, very good minutes in the first half. I thought she got out. She played confident, a little bit too confident, on a 3-on-1 fast break from 28 feet,” Fernández said. “But she took ownership of that. I thought she gave us a great spark when she came in.”
“And Kit does what she does. I mean, she’s only at one year of experience in the W, but she has so much experience playing overseas and big games in EuroLeague and EuroCup. So I knew what we were going to get from her, right?” Fernández continued. “I thought Awak and Jess and Arike, all three of them had a much better second half, and they knew that they could be playing a lot better, and they did.”
Odyssey Sims went down late in the third quarter and did not return. The Associated Press reported the injury was to her right knee.
The Wings waived Sug Sutton on Sept. 16 after she sustained a season-ending injury to her right hand in practice. Sutton last played Aug. 30.
“We’ll know more tomorrow. We will know more tomorrow. I know when she came [out], she wasn’t going to be able to return, but proud of the group with everything that these guys have gone through, right?” Fernández said. “Losing Azzi, and Alanna not being available, and Sug having a season-ending injury.”
“Now we’ll find out what’s the deal with O and where she’s at,” Fernández continued. “So then we’re going to have to figure out from a versatility standpoint who can play the point guard spot, right, when Paige is not on the floor.”
Fudd, the first overall pick in April’s draft, has not played since Aug. 5 and had an arthroscopic procedure on her right knee. Smith sustained a lower left leg injury at the World Cup.
Shepard’s previous triple-double came July 22 in a 101-97 win at Portland, when she had 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. Dallas beat the Connecticut Sun 97-71 in its last game before the break.
“I think the break was good for us as a team, obviously just to get a mental break away from the gym,” Shepard said. “And then also just to be able to have a week where we were able to just kind of work on ourselves before starting to prep this week was important at this point in the season.”
Bueckers said she spent the World Cup with the United States’ reserves in Berlin. She was back with the Wings for practice Wednesday.
“Everything. I’m super unserious. But honestly, kind of being a part of a bench mob, that was really fun. Being in a new role and embracing being the biggest cheerleader out there on the bench,” Bueckers said. “And then when it was our turn, we kind of just felt like a young intern crew that just wanted to turn up the game a little bit.”
“And then messing with the unks and trying to figure out who wants to be called an unk, an auntie, an unktie, and messing with the old heads for sure, because they need some youth and some fun to them,” Bueckers continued. “So I’ll bring those vibes.”
Dallas finished 10-34 last season. The Wings fired Chris Koclanes on Sept. 30, 2025, hired Fernández in October, and clinched their first playoff berth since 2023 on Aug. 25.
“It’s great just to continue to have that support regardless of win or loss. We felt confident in what we were building and the foundation that was being laid, and then just the people that we brought in, the coaching staff that we brought in,” Bueckers said. “Very grateful for what we had last year as well, but to see where we are now, obviously the wins have translated.”
“But we still want to keep moving, keep pushing forward. But it’s great to think regardless of anything we’ll have a home playoff game,” Bueckers continued. “So to finish strong here, to try to give back to our sixth man and our crowd and give them something to cheer for is very important for us.”
The first round of the WNBA playoffs is a best-of-three series in a 1-1-1 format. The higher seed hosts Games 1 and 3, and the lower seed hosts Game 2.
Saturday is the Wings’ regular-season home finale and their last regular-season game at College Park Center before the franchise moves its 2027 home schedule to American Airlines Center. Dallas hosts Phoenix, which is 15-26, with tip-off set for noon CT on CBS. The Wings close the regular season Sept. 23 at Seattle.
