Updated on: August 2, 2025 / 8:02 AM CDT / CBS/AP
For the second time this season, the Dallas Wings fell to the Indiana Fever at the American Airlines Center, losing 88-78 on Friday night.
The game was moved to the AAC in anticipation of a Clark-Paige Bueckers showdown, but Clark missed her 15th game overall and the Fever improved to 8-7 without her.
Despite the loss, star rookie Bueckers didn’t disappoint the crowd of 17,857 – second highest in Dallas history – with 22 points, her 12th 20-point game as she increased her WNBA record for double-figure games.
She was the only player in double figures for the Wings, who now are 8-21 on the season. Arike Ogunbowale had eight points and did not play in the fourth quarter.
The Wings could seem to stop the quickness of the Fever’s guard Kelsey Mitchell, who put up 23 points, and the frontcourt of Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard, who had double-doubles.
With a 9-0 burst in the second quarter, the Fever pulled away from a 22-22 tie at the end of the first quarter to lead 48-42 at the half. The Fever then upped the lead to 70-57 after three quarters.
Dallas cut it to 75-69 in the middle of the fourth quarter, but Indiana scored the next five to all but seal it.
Indiana, which tied a season high with 19 turnovers, had 12 3-pointers while Dallas didn’t hit one until the fourth quarter and finished 2 for 15 – a season-low 13.3% from beyond the arc.
The Wings went 24 for 25 from the foul line for a 14-point advantage, but the Fever were a plus-14 on the boards, plus-10 on the offensive end.
The Wings are now 0-3 against the Fever this season.
“No excuses. Proud of our resilience in the fourth quarter, but again, we need a toughness right from the tip,” Wings head coach Chris Koclanes said during the post-game press conference when asked about the shots not falling in the second half of the game.
“They came out stagnating us offensively, and we couldn’t do anything or get any type of movement or separation, and on the boards as well. When you’re missing shots, you have to play even harder,” Koclanes continued.
He told the media that his team has areas to continue to improve and grow.
Dallas Wings’ Maddy Siegrist to return
Wings forward Maddy Siegrist’s return from a knee injury is set for the team’s next matchup against the New York Liberty.
She was initially expected to hit the floor against the Fever, but was ruled out ahead of the game.
Siegrist has missed the last 17 games because of a right knee fracture.
Siegrist, the NCAA Division I scoring leader ahead of Clark when she played for Villanova in 2022-23, was limited to 11 games in an injury-plagued rookie season two years ago.
She has averaged 9.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in 11 games and had her only double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 boards in the game before she was injured, an 81-65 loss to Minnesota on June 8.
Up next
Dallas returns to the road on Tuesday, Aug. 5, to face the New York Liberty. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT. Dallas has a 1-0 advantage in the series against New York. The Wings defeated the Liberty 92-82 on July 28.
