Paige Bueckers Scores 27 as Wings Lose to Fever with Caitlin Clark Out Injured

Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings lost to the Indiana Fever, falling 94–86 as Caitlin Clark remained sidelined with an injury.

Paige Bueckers finished with 27 points, six assists, two steals and two blocks while shooting 50 percent from the field. Arike Ogunbowale added 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting, and NaLyssa Smith grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Fever played their second straight game without Caitlin Clark, who is sidelined with a groin injury. The loss dropped the Wings to 4-13 on the season as the Fever improved to 8-8.

Indiana exploded to a 16-2 start against the Wings, fueled by 10 early points from Kelsey Mitchell, who shot 4-of-5 from the field. Bueckers was the only Dallas starter to score in the first 10 minutes, as the Fever took a commanding 33-13 lead after one quarter.

Dallas rallied in the second, outscoring Indiana 30-23, but couldn’t overcome the early deficit and trailed 56-43 at halftime. Bueckers led the Wings with 12 points at the break, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer to close the half. Myisha Hines-Allen and Aziaha James each added nine points.

Out of halftime, Bueckers added eight more points as Dallas stormed back with a 26-18 third quarter, cutting the deficit to five heading into the final 10 minutes.

Despite a strong push in the fourth quarter — including seven points from Bueckers and an and-one by JJ Quinerly that gave the Wings a one-point lead — a series of clutch shots by Natasha Howard and Mitchell sealed the win for the Fever, even without its star in Clark.

Bueckers and the Dallas Wings will look to bounce back Saturday against the Washington Mystics in the second game of their home back-to-back.