The Guru’s WNBA Roundup: Dallas Downs Washington Despite Bueckers’ Absence to a Knee Issue

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Even when the WNBA schedule reduces to one game during the week this season and even when that game might be between teams in the lower area of the standings, nevertheless it manages to be newsworthy.

And so it was that Washington arrived Saturday in Texas to play Dallas having just won at Las Vegas and reached .500 at 8-8 while the host Wings (5-13) a night after losing at home to Indiana, which was missing Caitlyn Clark due to a groin injury, announced that overall No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers after one of her top games playing 36 minutes and scoring 27 with six assists was being sidelined with a right knee issue.

There was nothing specified beyond as of late Saturday.

Earlier, Bueckers had missed three games in a concussion protocol immediately followed by an absence due to illness.

However, another newcomer stepped up before the Wings crowd of 6,006 at College Park Center on the campus of Texas-Arlington in the suburbs as JJ Quinerly out of West Virginia scored 15 points, her best night in her fledgling pro career and Dallas prevailed 79-71.

And rookie Aziaha James added 15 points to the effort.

Dallas has been playing without former Villanova star Maddy Siegrist, who is out for an extended period with a knee issue that won’t require surgery. In 2023 she was the third overall draft pick of the Wings.

The Wings in recent weeks have been making some headway though they’ve avoided the basement in part due to the worst season ever for the cellar-dwelling Connecticut Sun (2-14), whose current losing streak is eight heading to play league-leading Minnesota (13-2), one of five games on the Sunday slate, at 7 p.m. in the Target Center in Minneapolis.

That’s two days ahead of the Lynx at 8 p.m. on Amazon Prime hosting Indiana (8-8) defending Minnesota’s in-season tourney Commissioner’s Cup championship won last season against New York, which got its revenge several months later with a first-ever WNBA title in a deciding Game 5 in overtime at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

In Saturday night’s contest, Dallas had a hot hand at the outset shooting 11-18 to go ahead 28-9 after the first quarter and staying well in front 45-31 at the half, the Wings’ matching their largest lead this season at the break.

The Mystics, however, went 12-0 to start the third and moving within a bucket at 45-43 but the Wings then applied the defensive breaks and held on the rest of the way spurred by an 8-0 run later in the quarter. Dallas surged again with a 7-0 spurt to start the fourth quarter.

Arike Ogunbowale added 14 points for the Wings, and Myisha Hines-Allen scored 13 points with six boards, five assists and three steals.

Washington rookie Sonia Citron, third overall out of Notre Dame, had another stellar night with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Shakira Austin scored 18, and second-leading Mystics scorer Britney Sykes returned from two injury-related missed games, but was held to six points in 26 minutes.

Rookie Lucy Olsen out of Villanova and Iowa a night after her best game off the bench went scoreless in 24 minutes of action off a bench that was dominated 36-5 by Wings reserves.

Both teams are off until Thursday when Washington visits Minnesota while Dallas hosts Phoenix both at 8 p.m.

Sunday’s other games have a key matchup at 3 p.m. on ESPN3 when New York finishes its four-game road trip at Atlanta looking for a split; Chicago at Los Angeles at 4 p.m. on ESPN; Las Vegas at Phoenix at 6 p.m. on NBA-TV; and Seattle at expansion Golden State at 8:30 p.m.