Wings want to keep building momentum

By Josh Ortega

The Dallas Wings opened up the 2026 WNBA season with a 107-104 win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on the road at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday. It is the first time since the 2024 season that the Wings have won their opening game, and the first time since 2023 to open the season with a road win. 

Out of all of the opening weekend matches across the WNBA, Saturday’s game between the Fever and Wings was the first in league history in which both teams scored at least 100 points. Wings Head Coach Jose Fernandez reflected on the atmosphere in the team’s clash with the other team, both for fans in the stadium and those watching on TV. 

“It was an incredible atmosphere, it was incredible for people watching on national television,” Fernandez said. “I think the stars shined today, and both teams represented the W in a great way.”

The Wings had five players finish in double figures, with three scoring 20 or more. Dallas was led by veteran guard Arike Ogunbowale, who scored a team-high 22 points in the win, followed by second-year guard and 2025 rookie of the year Paige Bueckers, who scored 20, going 8-10 from the field. Along with guard Odyssey Sims, who Dallas picked up in free agency, also ended her night with 20 points. All three got going early and played a pivotal role in picking up Head Coach Jose Fernadez’s first win with Dallas.

In the opening quarter, both teams kept the lead tight with the Fever and Dallas trading blows throughout the quarter. It was the trio of Bueckers, Ogunbowale and Sim’s that fueled the Wing’s scoring runs to go up on the Fever by three heading into the second quarter. 

It was in the second quarter that the playmaking ability of Ogunbowale and forward Jess Shepard shone, which helped the Wings continue to drive momentum on offense. Both had a combined 23 points and 11 assists through the first two quarters of play. 

On defense, the Wings held the Fever to a combined nine points off the bench, while holding Clark to eight points in her first regular-season action since July. However, Indiana kept up with Dallas through guard Kelsey Mitchell’s 15 first-half points and forward Aliyah Boston’s 12 points. Ultimately for the Wings, the combination of having three players in double figures through the first 20 minutes, including Bueckers who was perfect from the field with 10 points, combined with 19 points off the bench, helped Dallas take a 9-point lead to the locker room, up 60-51 heading into halftime. 

Coming out of the half, Clark began to heat up for the Fever. Clark was involved in six of the Fever’s 14 scores throughout the quarter via a made basket from her part or assisting. Clark pushed her total up to 20 points at the end of the night, eclipsing 1,000 career points, going 7-18 from the field with seven assists. Despite only knocking down two shots from beyond the three-point line, Clark and Mitchell with Boston are building off their totals. Along with seven points from forward Makayla Timpson, the Fever head into the fourth tied with Dallas again, 80-80.

Just like from the opening tip, both teams were neck and neck, scoring at the rim. The Wings went on an eight-point scoring run to open the quarter, with Indiana finding ways to score primarily through Boston and Mitchell, with both totaling north of 50 percent of the Fever points scored, as Boston finished with 23 and Mitchell with 30, knocking down 11 shots. As the Wings counterpunched with Bueckers and Ogunbowale adding to their totals. 

Dallas delivered the dagger for the Fever late in the fourth quarter when the Wings went on an 8-4 scoring run in which Sim’s and Shepard both knocked down a deuce of free throws to give the Wings a three-point lead in the dying seconds. The Fever tried to find a late equalizer as Mitchell missed a 31-foot, three-point jumper that bounced off the front of the rim and backboard, sealing the win for Dallas.

The regular season opener marks an end to the offseason chapter and the new page of a fresh season. With the high scoring numbers when the clock hit triple zeros, Fernandez talked about how the high scoring numbers across the board for Dallas are the type of identity the Wings want to establish. 

“That’s how we want to play, you know, that’s the way the offense is built for in the 90s and 100s,” Fernandez said. “We are going to be pretty tough to beat, I think.”

As with anything its always onto the next. Odyssey Sims reflected on helping her team and head coach get their first win of the season, and how the relationship between Fernandez and his player is the start of something special as the season moves on.

“He’s very personable; you can tell he loves being around us already,” Sims said. “We just want to keep building. As Arike said, we got a million plays and different options for us to score off of. So, as we continue to build from game to game it’s going to be a beautiful sight to see.”

Dallas will return home for a three-game home stand before hitting the road once again.