After pair of narrow consecutive defeats, the Dallas Wings seem to have found their rhythm with back-to-back wins against the Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics.
The question now is whether they can maintain it.
The Wings beat the Sky 99-89 Wednesday, with strong performances by Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, and Jessica Shepard.
But many eyes were turned to No. 35, Azzi Fudd.
While the first-round draft pick spent another tip-off on the bench, she did find time to leave her mark on the court Wednesday. Fudd played a total of 28 minutes, scoring 12 points, matching her tally from Monday's 92-69 blowout against Washington.
In that game, too, Fudd suited up but started the game on the bench before delivering her first double-digit scoring game in the WNBA, totaling a season-high 12 points, going 6-for-9 from the field, with 3 assists and 2 rebounds in 24 minutes.
Still, Fudd's season has been marked by false starts. During the season opener the former UConn star had just 18 minutes on the court — enough time to sink her first three in the WNBA. In the home opener against the Atlanta Dream, she sat out with a right knee injury.
Luckily, the Wings' stacked bench allowed her time to recover.
That's something head coach Jose Fernandez emphasized in Wednesday night's postgame press conference.
"They stayed the course, they battled back," Fernandez said. "We went to our bench, like I said earlier. When we got down, they responded. And very good teams do that."
Meanwhile, Fudd's pointed to her on-court chemistry with forward Jessica Shepard as a high point of the season so far, telling reporters earlier this week it was "incredible."
"It's been a lot of fun getting to play with a player like Jess that can just do a lot, both offensively and defensively," Fudd said. "I mean, I can't believe it's only been four games, and I've really enjoyed just each game getting more comfortable, learning how she likes to play, her learning my game, and this goes with everyone, but I'm so excited to continue to build that chemistry on the court."
Last year's WNBA Rookie of the Year, Bueckers, is a standout for the Wings this season. She averages around 20 points and 5.5 assists per game, highlighted by a career-high 44-point performance.
The league's preseason practice schedule was truncated this year due to ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations, leaving teams with only a few weeks to prepare for their first game.
With a few players missing training camp altogether, the Wings are still working to gel. After Wednesday night's win, senior guard Arike Ogunbalwe said the team has really come together.
“We looked like a top team in the league in that last fourth quarter,” Ogunbalwe said. “And we didn't have a great first half, but we came out that second half.”
The Wings take on the Atlanta Dream again Friday. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m.
Alexsis Jones is a reporter and producer for KERA News. Got a tip? Email Alexsis at ajones@kera.org.
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