Paige Bueckers Scores 20 as Wings Upset Ionescu, Liberty with Breanna Stewart Out

The Dallas Wings did not view themselves as underdogs in Monday's matchup against the New York Liberty.

An explosive first half led the way for the Wings to claim an 92-82 victory over the New York Liberty.

The Wings unloaded in the first half, taking a 63-38 lead at halftime. This was the largest deficit that the Liberty had faced since the 2022 season. The effort was much different in the second half, with New York outscoring 46-29.

The fourth quarter was extra dominant for the Liberty as they outpaced the Wings 20-7. However, it was not enough to overcome the deficit as the Wings hung on.

Wings rookie Paige Bueckers returned to the lineup after missing the previous game. She scored 20 points and added six rebounds, four assists and three steals while shooting 7-of-12 and going 2-of-4 from three-point range.

Other notable contributors for the Wings included guard Arike Ogunbowale, who had 20 points and 14 assists, and Luisa Geiselsoder, who had 14 points.

The Liberty were without star Breanna Stewart but still saw some strong contributions in the second half. Jonquel Jones had 18 points and seven rebounds, Sabrina Ionescu had 17 points, five assists and four rebounds while Isabelle Harrison and Stephanie Talbot each contributed 10 points.

The Wings improved to 8-19 with the victory while New York fell to 17-8. Dallas will next be in action on Wednesday against the Atlanta Dream.