Fans kept demanding it: A stronger supporting cast, a true running mate to lean on when she was gassed, someone to feed her energy when she was cooking on court, someone to carry the ball when she couldn’t. Their voices filled arenas, timelines, and even veered into threats. We saw the point there because Paige Bueckers gave Dallas everything: forty-four points on a jaw-dropping 17-of-21 shooting night. She crossed up defenders with Kyrie-like flair, matched Cynthia Cooper’s rookie scoring record, and still walked off on the wrong side of an 81-80 scoreline against the Sparks. That game also ended Bueckers’ playoff hopes in what was rather a historic rookie campaign.

Why? Because while Bueckers was carrying the entire offense (13 of the team’s 18 fourth-quarter points), her teammates managed one lonely bucket and three turnovers. The rest of the roster shot just 31 percent, and turned her best performance into one of the cruelest what-ifs in WNBA rookie history. However, context matters. That night was already an uphill climb with Arike Ogunbowale sidelined by injury. It stripped Dallas of its most reliable second scoring option.

But if you thought all the pressure since that night would fracture the locker room, Paige herself killed that narrative tonight. After their latest win over the Mercury, a reporter asked about her bond with her teammates. She didn’t hesitate, practically glowing as she answered because all her faith paid off and set the Wings up for future success. “It’s the little stuff and like the really meaningful relationships that mean a lot to me.” Then she rattled off the fun like she was describing a college dorm vibe: “So like playing Uno, going to Enrique’s house, like just hanging out and kicking it as a team at the apartments. Little stuff like that, that goes a long way in terms of your on-court chemistry. ”

That sounds like best friends hanging out while subtly building their chemistry for the future matchups, and honestly, they needed that dynamic. At one point, the Wings were staring at a brutal 1-11 record, the worst in the WNBA. Today, they can at least say the season ended on a high note with double-digit wins, even if they’re still buried at the bottom of the standings. For Paige, though, the standings don’t tell the whole story.

For the rebuilding Wings, the locker room has been one of the few bright spots in a season defined by setbacks. Injuries have piled up; five players, including Ogunbowale, were ruled out for Thursday’s game, proof of the challenges Dallas has faced all year. So, it makes sense why Bueckers’ and even Chris Koclanes’ favorite moments of the season came off the court.

“The stuff off the court, like playing card games on the plane,” Bueckers said Wednesday when asked about her favorite part of the season. “Just bonding, going out to eat. Hanging out is the stuff that’s most fun to me.” Meanwhile, for Koclanes, the moment came when Wings beat the Seattle Storm on the road in their first game following the All-Star break, and the team made a trip to Napa Valley. “Those are the trips that bring the perspective back to you,” Koclanes said. “You play 44 games in such a short time. You get wrapped up in the highs and the lows and the basketball and the X’s and the O’s and you forget about the people and the person behind the player, so that was a good reset for me.”

Hence, Bueckers summed it up with one last reflection post-game: “I feel like just the relationships and how close we’ve gotten as a team, and whoever was in, whoever was out, we just remained resilient and showed a lot of strength together. So I think that’s been the most meaningful thing.” Tonight, that resilience she kept preaching about, and Paige’s faith in her teammates finally paid off as the Dallas Wings are heading into the offseason on a high note, closing their rocky campaign with a commanding 97-76 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday night inside College Park Center. Let’s see how they did it-

Paige Bueckers’ Teammates Finally Showed Up

The night didn’t start easily because Phoenix actually held the early lead in the first quarter. But the game’s momentum swung sharply once the Mercury began resting their starters. None of Phoenix’s starters logged more than 20 minutes, and Dallas pounced. By halftime, the Wings were up 10, and by the end of the third quarter, they had doubled that margin. At one point, the lead ballooned to 27.

Of course, No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers was at the center of it all. She led all scorers with 24 points, once again proving why her name keeps rewriting the WNBA rookie record book. This time, she added new milestones in both points and assists that put her alongside some of the league’s legends.

But the real story is that for once, Bueckers didn’t have to do it alone. Amy Okonkwo and Aziaha James each erupted for 20 points off the bench. They gave Dallas the kind of secondary scoring punch they’ve been begging for all year. Maddy Siegrist chipped in 10 more to round out the balance. As a group, the Wings looked confident, connected, and finally showed flashes of what they could be with everyone clicking. The victory snapped a grueling 10-game losing streak, giving Dallas at least one bright spot to smile about as they head home for the winter.

Their 97 points also marked their third-highest scoring total of the season (only trailing the 109 and 98 they hung on the Sun and the Mercury). The symmetry almost felt fitting, like the Wings needed Phoenix on the schedule to remember how to score in bunches. Still, even with the win, questions hang in the air about their moves for the next season. However, for now, the Wings can exhale. After a year that began at 1-11 and rarely offered sunlight, they finally have a night to remember, and maybe even a foundation to build on.