Paige Bueckers Leads Mercury Vs Wings as Dallas Returns Home

The mercury vs wings matchup brought Dallas back to College Park Center on Thursday night after a 100-76 loss to Minnesota. Tipoff was set for 8 p.m., with Phoenix arriving after an 87-81 defeat to Golden State and a four-game road trip that ended in Arlington.

Paige Bueckers Returns Home

Paige Bueckers came in off a 23-point night against the Lynx, but Dallas needed more than one scorer after finishing that game with 76 points and 38% shooting. Minnesota forced 12 turnovers, and Jose Fernandez said the team needs to have short term memory because it was not their best night.

That was the immediate problem for the Wings: they had entered the night ranked second in points per game at 89.4 and fourth in field goal percentage at 46.1%, then fell well short of those numbers in Minneapolis. The return home gave Dallas a fast chance to reset without waiting for another road stop.

Olivia Miles And Phoenix Pressure

Phoenix also arrived with a recent loss, but its 87-81 setback ended a two-game win streak rather than a longer slide. The Mercury were fourth in the WNBA in steals per game, a number that fit the pressure Dallas faced after Minnesota repeatedly turned possessions into empty trips.

Olivia Miles had 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, with six assists and seven rebounds in the Lynx win over the Wings. Azzi Fudd added six points on 2-of-12 shooting and 2-of-6 from deep, even as she had already shown the ceiling with two 20-point games in wins against the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces.

Dallas, Phoenix, and the reset

The game also carried a roster lens for Dallas after the Wings held the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft and selected Fudd before taking Olivia Miles second. Fernandez said the group has to move on quickly, and the home floor gave the Wings a direct test of whether that response could come right away.