Paige Bueckers carried Dallas into Wings vs Tempo on Sunday with 25 points in an 86-83 win over the Connecticut Sun. The Wings now take a 12-8 record into their first meeting with Toronto this season, while the Tempo come in at 9-10 and have been better at home than overall.
Paige Bueckers and Dallas
Bueckers’ 25 points were the difference in Dallas’ latest result, and the Wings have used that kind of scoring to stay near the top of the Western Conference race at 6-6 in conference play. Dallas is also 6-5 on the road, so Sunday’s trip asks it to carry that form into a setting where Toronto has already gone 5-4 at home.
The Wings also bring a measurable edge on the glass. They rank third in the Western Conference with 33.6 rebounds per game, and Jessica Shepard is supplying 11.3 rebounds a night while adding 14.3 points and 5.2 assists. That balance has helped Dallas keep games tight even when the score stays in the low 80s.
Toronto Tempo backcourt
Toronto’s offense has moved the ball well enough to sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with 20.3 assists per game, led by Julie Allemand at 5.1 assists. Maria Conde is adding 8.4 points, and the Tempo average 90.8 points per game overall.
That number gives Toronto a clear scoring profile for this matchup. The Tempo are averaging 5.3 more points per game than the 85.5 Dallas allows, and they have also outperformed Dallas by a slim margin from long range, making 0.3 fewer 3-pointers per game than the Wings give up.
Marina Mabrey on the report
The injury report leaves Toronto with three names on it, including Brittney Sykes out with a foot injury, Kiki Rice out with an ankle injury and Marina Mabrey day to day with a neck injury. That matters because Mabrey is also averaging 21.4 points over her last 10 games, so Toronto is carrying both a scoring lift and a possible availability issue into the same matchup.
Dallas has the cleaner recent numbers, going 5-5 in its last 10 while averaging 87.2 points, 33.7 rebounds and 20.6 assists, with opponents held to 88.0 points. Toronto is 4-6 over its last 10 and has given up 94.5 points per game in that span, so Sunday’s game puts Dallas’ rebound work and Bueckers’ scoring against a Tempo team that has scored enough to keep pace but has also had to manage injuries and inconsistency.
