Paige Bueckers leads Wings past stubborn Mercury

Paige Bueckers scored 20 of her 26 points in the first half and led a fourth-quarter charge in the Dallas Wings’ 87-82 victory Saturday over the Phoenix Mercury in Arlington, Texas.

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The Wings (26-16) have won six consecutive games, all of them at home. The 26 victories represent a new franchise record.

The teams play again Monday night at Phoenix. Dallas has won the first two meetings at Arlington.

Phoenix (15-27) has lost nine of its last 13 games.

The Mercury’s leading scorer, Khaleah Copper, missed her second straight game with a groin injury.

Phoenix was led by Lexi Held’s 21 points. Alyssa Thomas produced a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

Arike Ogunbowale recorded 22 points and six assists for the Wings.

Bueckers buried a 28-foot trey, giving Dallas an 83-79 lead with 2:00 on the clock.

After Phoenix’s Natasha Mack (16 points) converted on a drive to the basket, Ogunbowale made a layup while getting fouled with 1:19 remaining. Her free throw put Dallas ahead 86-81.

Held made one of two free throw attempts for Phoenix with 31 seconds left.

The Mercury had an opportunity to cut further into the lead after a Bueckers’ turnover, but Noemie Brochant missed a jumper and Held turned the ball over after getting the rebound.

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Bueckers ended the scoring making one of two free throw attempts with 10 seconds left.

The Mercury led by as many as seven points in the first quarter, before taking a 24-19 lead into the second.

The lead reached eight points on two occasions before Dallas made a run.

The Wings turned a 39-32 deficit with 5:04 left in the second quarter into a 45-41 lead with 3:16 remaining.

Bueckers fueled the 13-2 run with a couple of 3-pointers.

She ended the half with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, putting Dallas ahead 56-49.

The second-year pro had 20 points at halftime on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.

Dallas scored a season-high point total for a quarter with 37 in the second quarter behind 57.9% shooting (11 of 19) from the field. They also converted 6 of 9 from behind the arc and 9 of 11 from the free throw line.

Phoenix responded by knocking down 10-of-16 shots from the floor, but only two treys and three free throws.

Ogunbowale had 10 points in the quarter after making 3 of 4 shots from the field.

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–Field Level Media

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This story was originally published September 19, 2026 at 3:43 PM.