Remember when we all thought, “Hey, maybe this is the start of something” after the Wings stunned the Liberty with that 10-point win? Yeah, about that… Since that July 28 game, Paige Bueckers and crew have dropped two straight. So much for momentum, right? A tight 3-point loss to the Dream still gave fans some hope, but then came the game against a Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever. And yep, same result. Another L.

It’s not like Paige Bueckers is having bad games out there. She is out there continuing to do what she does best. Hoop! Even in the game against the Indiana Fever, Bueckers ended up with a team-high 22 points on 7-14 shooting, while also grabbing 4 rebounds and getting 4 assists.

But the rest of them? They just can’t seem to be on the same wavelength as the rookie. Even in tonight’s loss, none of the Wings players managed to get a double-digit score except Paige. A vet like Arike Ogunbowale could only make 1 field goal the entire game. Not ideal for Chris Koclanes and his team.

It was a full-on physical battle that saw Myisha Hines-Allen go down with an ankle injury. Paige Bueckers also took a hit to the thigh but made her way back into the game. Still, it was all Indiana on the night. Kelsey Mitchell, too, was all smiles after the game, clearly pleased with how the team stepped up to shut down the Wings.

In the post-game conference, Kelsey revealed the real reason behind their win. “Oh, I think majority of our game and everything you saw tonight is effort,” she said. “Being able to take Paige Bueckers out of certain shots is effort. Being able to, like, you know, Teaira McCowan, Li Yueru, they’re not small players, they’re big players. And so that’s effort from our bigs, DD, AB, TSH. I think it’s effort all the way.”

The Fever restricted the Wings to just 40.6% shooting from the field and allowed only 2 threes all game. But when Kelsey Mitchell talks about “effort,” she means more than just good defense on the perimeter. The team also owned the paint, outrebounding the Wings by 14! But that’s not all! They restricted the bigs of Wings to just 4 offensive rebounds. That’s the kind of hard work that wins games!

But even after that tough loss, the Dallas superstar stayed positive about the game. Here’s what she had to say.

Paige Bueckers finds positives despite the loss to the Fever

With this loss, the Wings are now up to 21 defeats this season. They have 8 wins, which is 1 short of what they had last season. But Paige Bueckers is staying positive, knowing the team is still growing. With an average age of just 25 years and 3 months, it’s clear this young squad is still figuring things out, especially when it comes to closing games.

In her postgame press conference, Bueckers was still positive about the effort they put in. “The fact we’re competing in every single game that we’re playing, and we’re building reps,” Bueckers said.“We’re a very young team… play in tight games, and play with different lineups. It’s really positive for us to get these reps in the first year that we’re playing. I think it will only help us in the long run and make us better.”

It will certainly be interesting to see how the roster of the Dallas Wings will shape up in the coming years. For sure, the franchise will look to maximize the championship window as long as they have Bueckers on the side, so will we be expecting big names coming in next season? Or will the front office stick with the young core and help develop them into superstars to create a dynasty? That remains to be seen!