The Dallas Wings wasted little time taking control Tuesday night.
Dallas raced out to a nine-point advantage after the opening quarter and never looked back, rolling past the Portland Fire 96-78 behind a balanced starting five and another commanding performance from Paige Bueckers.
Bueckers set the tone with 22 points and 11 assists, adding four rebounds and two steals as Dallas steadily pulled away. Jessica Shepard was right behind her with 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The Wings established their advantage in the opening 10 minutes, outscoring Portland 27-18. Rather than allowing the Fire to answer in the second quarter, Dallas kept its foot on the gas.
A Bueckers-to-Awak Kuier connection helped illustrate how well the Wings were operating offensively. With 1:59 remaining before halftime, Bueckers found Kuier for a 25-foot three-pointer that stretched Dallas’ lead to 44-31.
Bueckers created another three less than a minute later, finding Alanna Smith from deep to make it 47-33. By halftime, the Wings had built a 50-37 advantage.
There was no second-half letdown.
Dallas won the third quarter 21-15, extending its lead to 71-52 entering the fourth. Portland finally outscored the Wings in the final period, 26-25, but by then Dallas had done more than enough damage.
Bueckers and Shepard were only part of the problem for Portland.
Arike Ogunbowale scored 17 points and added four assists and two steals. Kuier recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds while collecting three steals, and Smith finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
All five Dallas starters scored in double figures, combining for 82 points.
The Wings also moved the ball effectively throughout the night. Dallas finished with 26 assists, six more than Portland, while holding a 38-33 rebounding advantage. The Wings recorded 11 steals as well.
Portland received 14 points apiece from Bridget Carleton and Karlie Samuelson, but never found enough offense to erase the early deficit. Emily Engstler provided one of the Fire’s strongest individual efforts with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, while Carla Leite had 10 points and seven assists.
The Fire continued competing and scored 26 points in the fourth quarter, but the hole created by Dallas’ fast start proved too deep.
From a 27-point opening quarter to a 19-point advantage entering the fourth, the Wings dictated the game from the start.
And with Bueckers controlling the offense, Dallas never gave Portland a real opportunity to take it back.
