The Dallas Wings heard Jose Fernandez’s message loud and clear.
Four days after the first-year head coach publicly called out his team’s “selfishness” three games into the season, the Wings responded with an emphatic 92-69 win over the Washington Mystics on Monday, May 18 to end a two-game skid. The Wings finished with a season-high 30 assists on 33 made field goals in the victory.
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“It felt really good,” said Paige Bueckers, one of five Wings players to finish in double-digits. “We played selfless tonight. Ninety-two points, we got out in transition and really moved the ball really well… It was a really good response for our team.”
Bueckers said the team had a “rough film session” following their 90-86 loss to the Minnesota Lynx, where the Wings led by as many as 12 points. Fernandez got candid after the loss and asked his team to “look in the mirror and be accountable on how you play.” The following days featured lots of conversations, Bueckers said
“Two days of practice leading up to this game where we were talking, we’re communicating,” Bueckers said. “We held each other accountable and talked about what we needed to improve on, and we just took pride on the (defensive) side of the ball. We know we can score. We have so much offensive firepower, but it’s really awesome for us all about getting stops because that fuels our offense.”
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Arike Ogunbowale said the loss to the Lynx featured a silver lining.
“Even though that loss to the Lynx was unfortunate, I think with that film session we learned so much that we might not have learned if we would’ve ended up winning that game,” added Ogunbowale. “So just seeing what we did wrong… I think we really corrected that today. But it’s still early. This was only… Game 4 and it’s still a lot left, but if we can take things from the film session, execute it and practice and bring it to the game, I think we would be in a good position.”
Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard (15) reacts after scoring a basket against the Washington Mystics during the second half at College Park Center on May 18, 2026 in Arlington, Texas.
The Wings came out with a different level of intensity Monday. Dallas held Washington to nine-points in the first quarter and went on to score 23 points on 19 turnovers throughout the game.
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Bueckers finished with a team-high 18 points and seven assists. Arike Ogunbowale added 16 points, Jessica Shepard had a 12-point, 16-rebound double-double. Azzi Fudd and Maddy Siegrist finished with 12 and 11 points off the bench, respectively.
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dallas Wings respond to coach’s challenge with blowout over Mystics
