Paige Bueckers & Co. Lose Big WNBA Playoff Advantage as Dream Seal Their Fate in Win vs. Liberty

Paige Bueckers & Co. have spent the final stretch of the regular season trying to climb the WNBA standings after the Dallas Wings barely made it to the playoffs. They even worked their way as high as sixth, putting themselves in a position to finish with a considerably better playoff draw, but Monday night changed everything.

Dallas suffered a heartbreaking 87-86 loss to the Phoenix Mercury, dropping the Wings back to the No. 7 seed, and with the New York Liberty also in the mix, the battle for positioning came down to the final games of the regular season. But as Atlanta defeated New York 83-65, the Wings’ hopes of climbing any higher and potentially putting themselves in a position for home-court advantage have finally come to an end.

“With the New York loss to Atlanta, the Dallas Wings are officially the seventh seed in this year’s WNBA playoffs, regardless of the outcome tonight against Seattle,” WNBA reporter Myah Taylor wrote on X.

The Dream took control of the game early against New York and never looked back, turning a one-point deficit after the opening quarter into a 41-26 halftime lead before cruising to a victory. Allisha Gray led the way with 24 points, while Naz Hillmon added 16 as the Dream secured the No. 4 seed.

Now, in the postseason, the Liberty will have to face the No. 1-seeded Minnesota Lynx on their home court, while the Wings will face the Golden State Valkyries after Dallas ends its regular season with a game against the Seattle Storm. It might not have been the position they were aiming for, but after recording one of the worst seasons in the franchise’s history last year, the Wings have transformed into a playoff team. So now, with their position fixed, they just need to work on the shortcomings they had against the Mercury before the playoffs begin.

In that game, Dallas had multiple opportunities to pull away with a win, but eventually, the Mercury had a one-point victory.

That inability to close out the game against a No. 10-ranked team that even failed to make the playoffs could become a major concern in the postseason. Dallas had control of the contest, but a combination of missed opportunities and defensive lapses allowed Phoenix to stay within striking distance. And after the game, even head coach Jose Fernandez pointed directly toward that issue, emphasizing the need for his team to string together stops and remain locked in on both ends.

“It’s something we’ve talked about all year, about how every possession matters on both ends of the floor,” Fernandez said. “We’ve got to string together some stops and stay dialed in.”

The Wings also committed 21 fouls in that game, which gave Phoenix too many chances at the free-throw line. Paige Bueckers herself acknowledged that Dallas needed to be more disciplined, particularly when the game was on the line.

“We can’t be fouling, and we can’t give up layups with the game on the line,” she said. “We just have to be better, more locked in, to be more disciplined in our game plan and stick to that and defend without fouling.”

Against a team like Golden State, Dallas cannot afford to give away possessions late or allow defensive breakdowns to erase a lead. The Wings have shown throughout the season that they can score enough to compete, as Paige Bueckers leads the way with 20.8 PPG, but the Phoenix loss showed that offensive production alone will not be enough.

That is perhaps the biggest lesson the Wings can take from their disheartening loss. The regular season gave them room to recover from mistakes. The playoffs will not offer the same luxury. With their seeding now settled, Dallas has one final game to sharpen those details before the real test begins.

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