Paige Bueckers Scores 16 as Wings Lose to Jackie Young, Aces in Commissioner's Cup

Four turnovers in the final 3:20 proved costly for the Dallas Wings and Paige Bueckers in an 88-84 loss to the Las Vegas Aces — who were without A’ja Wilson — on Friday night.

The standout rookie finished with 16 points, five assists and two steals on 7-of-19 shooting. Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 26 points, shooting 9-of-17 from the field.

Despite Bueckers’ strong performance — she is averaging 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.9 steals while shooting 45.5 percent from beyond the arc — the Wings remain in the midst of a seven-game losing streak.

The loss marked the Wings’ fifth defeat in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, with previous losses to the Minnesota Lynx, Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks. They now sit four games back in the Western Conference standings.

The Wings have won just one game this season, a 109-87 victory over the Connecticut Sun on May 27. Despite securing the No. 1 overall pick, they have struggled to gain momentum, opening the season with an 0-4 record.

As the Wings fell to 1-11, the Aces improved to 5-4 behind Jackie Young, who scored 28 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Jewell Lloyd, who added 21 points.

Bueckers opened the scoring for the Wings with a tough jumper less than a minute into the game, as Dallas focused on keeping Lloyd off the 3-point line after she knocked down two deep threes early.

Dallas briefly grabbed a three-point lead in the first quarter, as Bueckers added another jumper, but the Aces closed strong to take a 24-18 lead after the opening 10 minutes.

The Wings came out strong in the second, using a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to one after an Ogunbowale 3-pointer, but Las Vegas responded with an 8-0 burst to regain control, taking a 49-40 lead into halftime.

Ogunbowale led the Wings with 16 points at the break, while Bueckers added six. Luisa Geiselsoder and DiJonai Carrington each chipped in five. Lloyd paced the Aces with 16 first-half points, and Jackie Young added eight.

Early in the third quarter, a balanced effort from the Wings helped Dallas even the score at 49, with Bueckers hitting a two-pointer to give her team the lead.

The Wings then surged ahead, leading by as many as 13 as they outscored the Aces 30-15 in the quarter and took a 70-64 advantage into the final 10 minutes.

Dallas kept it rolling in the fourth with two points from Bueckers and six from Geiselsoder, but a string of costly turnovers nearly gave the game back to the Aces. The Wings were forced to call a timeout with just over a minute left as their 11-point lead was cut to one.

A three-pointer from Jewell Lloyd gave the Aces the lead as the Wings fully crumbled, allowing Las Vegas to seal the victory at the free-throw line.

The Wings will look to bounce back against the devastating loss on Tuesday as they host the Golden State Valkyries for their first meeting.