As the Dallas Wings took on the Los Angeles Sparks in their first game after the two-week FIBA World Cup break, Dallas HC Jose Fernandez’s honest take on his team’s performance elicited a chuckle or two from the reporters present in the room. His comments came as he reflected on his team’s shortcomings in the first half, despite the Wings emerging with a 97-77 victory.
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“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. So I think everybody. 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,” Fernandez said in the post-game press conference.
“The ball was getting thrown around everywhere. There was no floor balance. There were bad shots, but a sign of a good team is how you respond in the next 20 minutes. They came out of the locker room and did some very, very good things. Also, having six players in double figures- 31 assists- Jess got a triple-double again. We were able to rest Paige and Arike tonight as well, so that’s good,” he added.
The first half of the game at the College Park Center in Arlington was a tight contest. The Los Angeles Sparks matched the Wings in scoring, even after losing their top scorer of the season, Kelsey Plum, to the Phoenix Mercury.
The game was tied at 44 all when Cameron Brink made a putback layup with just 14 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Wings’ Maddy Siegrist missed the last shot of the half, and the score remained tied heading into the halftime break.
As rightly pointed out by Jose Fernandez, the Wings put on a sloppy show in the first half, making only six of their 17 shots from beyond the arc. They were almost matched by the Sparks in offensive rebounds as well, registering six OREB as compared to the Sparks’ five.
The Sparks did pick the Wings’ pocket thoroughly in the first half, registering a staggering nine steals as compared to the Wings’ one. And Fernandez’s claim that the “ball was getting thrown around everywhere” wasn’t too far off, as the Wings gave away 11 turnovers compared to the Sparks’ 4.
However, the Wings came out strongly in the second half.
Dallas seized control by going on a 12-0 run towards the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth, opening up a comfortable 74-58 advantage. They locked down the Sparks’ defense, registering 11 blocks on the night, and committed only seven turnovers in the second half. Courtesy of their 50.7% FG%, the final scoreline was a 20-point win for the Wings.
Jessica Shepard delivered her fifth triple-double of the campaign with 13 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds, propelling the Wings to victory in what was their fifth consecutive win. Paige Bueckers finished with a game-high 19 points and added six rebounds and three assists as well.
Even with just three games left in the regular season for the Wings, we could be seeing Jessica Shepard climbing a WNBA record, as she now has the third-most triple-doubles in a season in WNBA history, only trailing Alyssa Thomas’ eight that she set in 2025. Thomas also holds the second place, with the six triple-doubles she bagged in 2023.
Nneka Ogwumike’s effort of 18 points was not enough to lead the Sparks to a victory. With a 12-26 record, they now sit at 10th in the standings.
The win was crucial for Dallas to secure a favorable seeding in the playoff matchups. They will look to avoid facing the number one seed, the Minnesota Lynx, in the very first round, as they are now without a key player in Azzi Fudd.
With 25 wins, the Dallas Wings have now tied their single-season win record, which was set way back in 2003 when the franchise was known as the Detroit Shock.
The Dallas Wings and Jose Fernandez will look to keep this winning momentum going when they take on the Phoenix Mercury in their next game on Saturday.