Even in a comfortable preseason opener win for the Dallas Wings, head coach Jose Fernandez has clearly underscored that his team is far from perfect. The Wings clinch a 95-80 away win over the Indiana Fever, showcasing some impressive stretches on occasions, but there were a few aspects of his team that Fernandez isn’t buying into at all.

Speaking at the post-game press conference, Fernandez was quick to pinpoint the high number of fouls (32) that his team committed in the game, which, for him, was even more prominent than the 15-point win.

“I thought the game was never gonna end,” he said. “We just fouled, and fouled. And we got to do better than that. In the offensive end, I’m not concerned with the way we shared it. Two areas of concern are us keeping the ball in straight lines and drives, and there’s a lot of things we need to fix. We gotta do a better job of trusting our help and bring out help from other places. Individual defense was just wallowing up, making them shoot.”

 The Fever-Wings games were in themselves a bit of a physical game. Over 50 fouls were committed in the game, which makes it pretty clear how the game turned out. Yet, giving away 42 free throws in a game is unceremonious in any basketball game, be it a preseason appearance. Even individual performances matter in this regard. Dulcy Fankam Mendijiadeu, Aziaha James, and Maddy Siegrist combined for 14 fouls in the game.

Subsequently, the Indiana Fever made good use of these unguarded points, scoring 28 of them, nearly 35% of the team’s 80 points. As head coach Jose Fernandez mentioned, most of the foul struggles occurred on defense. In the overall context of the game, the Wings did pretty well defending the half-court and the perimeter in stretches, holding the Fever to just 17% from beyond the arc.

But on the contrary, the team was quite sloppy deep down as well while restricting opponents and stopping them mid-drives to the court. For instance, Alanna Smith conceded a flagrant 1 and gave away three fouls while defending Caitlin Clark in the third quarter, and did not give her enough space to land. There were several other instances like it across the game, and these individual nuances eventually made the road a bit tougher for the team, which Fernandez clearly reflected upon.

Better defensive awareness and efficiency could have prevented this scoring spree from the line and locked out the Fever more convincingly in the game. Second-year pro Paige Bueckers reflected on this sentiment, remarking that the team needs to strap it up defensively as soon as possible while speaking in the post-game presser.

“Then also being able to get stops and stop sending them to the free throw line so we can get out in transition. It’s harder to do it off a made basket. So, it starts with our defense and leading into our offense,” Bueckers said. “It’s pretty crazy, actually, to send them to the line, 42 they got, 42 free throw attempts. So those are things we need to clean up.”

Besides the defensive flaws and the foul struggles, the Dallas Wings had plenty to feel good about. Paige Bueckers set the tone early, knocking down a wing three for Dallas’ first points, and it was a sign of what was to come. The 2025 No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year led the way with 20 points in just 20 minutes, shooting an efficient 8-of-12 from the field, including four threes, while also adding three assists and two rebounds.

Bueckers and Siegrist dominated the night for Dallas Wings, combining for 38 points. Bueckers also came clean in defense, giving away just 2 personal fouls. Aziaha James did concede 5 fouls but contributed with 17 points and 4 steals in the game. It’s true they lost possessions (22) too many times, but other aspects of the game compensated, eventually leading to a win in the preseason opener.

But there was another storyline for Dallas Wings fans to keep an eye on.

It was Azzi Fudd’s debut. The 2026 No. 1 pick got off the mark early, knocking down a midrange jumper over Caitlin Clark in the first quarter. But after that, things didn’t quite click for the former UConn guard. She finished with 4 points on 2-of-7 shooting, missing both her three-point attempts in 16 minutes. Not the kind of debut she would’ve wanted, but it’s just the beginning. It’s only up from here.

On the offensive front, the team moved the ball quite well, outrebounding the Fever 45-26, and even had a better shooting night (51% FG) against a team (40%) that featured Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham. Yet despite these silver linings, head coach Jose Fernandez isn’t buying into the success and has made himself quite clear about how he wants to reframe these issues going forward.

Jose Fernandez Makes the Way Ahead Clear for His Team

For most, the game against the Indiana Fever is just another preseason game, but for Dallas Wings head coach Jose Fernandez, it’s his first foray in the W. Thus, he isn’t holding anything back, and after his team struggled with defense and conceded fouls, he was quite clear that this won’t be the way forward for the team.

Speaking at his post-game presser, Fernandez made sure his team knew that the very next day at the office, they would analyze their mistakes by watching the clips, and make sure that they improve when the team takes the court next time.

“Probably first thing when we walk in the building, we’ll be watching film on all the things we need to improve,” Fernandez said. “The league’s too good to come out every night and just outsour people. We got to string stops and defend without fouling, right? So looking forward to getting back to work.”

Now, defensive issues aren’t something that’s new to the Dallas Wings. The team also had one of the worst defensive ratings last season (109.9). They brought notice to it by bringing in players like Co-Defensive Player of the Year, Alanna Smith. But the elements of efficiency and precision in defense are still missing, and they will look to build towards them under their new head coach, Jose Fernandez.

Their next preseason game against the Las Vegas Aces will provide the perfect platform to test themselves against a formidable offense featuring A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young. The tip-off is on Sunday, May 3.