Wings Win Epic OT Clash 112-110

Dominique Malonga scored a career-high 37 points.

(Seattle, WA) - On Monday night, basketball fans were treated to a very special performance. The Dallas Wings (11-6) and Seattle Storm (3-15) battled in an intense back-and-forth affair that took more than 40 minutes. The two teams were tied 96-96 at the end of regulation. Paige Bueckers hit a clutch shot with five seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. Both offenses were red-hot, but the Wings managed to hit one more basket to win the game 112-110.

Unfortunately, this means the Storm lost their 11th game in a row, setting a franchise-worst record. The previous longest losing streak took place in 2023 between June 27th, 2023, and July 28th, 2023. That season, the team finished 11-29. This year, they are on pace to win just seven games. In their inaugural season, the franchise went 6-26 (.188 win percentage).

However, Seattle didn’t look like losers after this game. They played an incredible game. One that the players, coaches, and everyone involved in the organization should be very proud of. Fans were exposed to the future of the league, and the future in Seattle is very bright.

Dominique Malonga scored a career-high 37 points on 14-24 FG. She also had a double-double with 12 rebounds. She became the youngest player in WNBA history to have a 30-point double-double. Malonga already holds the record for the youngest player to have a 20/10 game in league history. Dom was magical on Monday night. Showing her full toolkit of scoring inside, the midrange, at the foul line, and beyond the arc.

Malonga’s frontcourt partner, Awa Fam, had another stellar performance as well. She tied her career-high for the third time this season with 18 points. She did it on an efficient 6-8 FG, which included 4-5 FG from 3-PT range. She also had six rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots.

Natisha Hiedeman also had a career night. She scored 21 points, but it was her 11 assists that set a new personal best. That helped Seattle with a season-high 29 assists on 39 made field goals. Their offense has never looked better, as it was the first time Seattle scored over 100 points.

Zia Cooke added 18 points on 6-12 FG shooting off the bench. She had to play a larger role with both Jordan Horston and Jade Melbourne out of this game with injuries. Rookie Flau’jae Johnson rounded out the group with 11 points and nine assists. Coach Raman was particularly pleased with her assists and her defense on Paige Bueckers. Bueckers was limited to 10 points through the game’s first 38:48.

Seattle shot a season-high 51% (39-77 FG) and 45% (13-29 FG) from beyond the arc.

Dallas Wings

Paige Bueckers led five Wings’ players in double figures. While Seattle held Bueckers down for more than 38 minutes, she exploded for 17 points over the final one minute of regulation and the five minutes of OT. She literally willed the Wings to a victory as she hit clutch shot after clutch shot. Including two difficult three-pointers and another basket in the final 72 seconds. She had to do all of that just to tie the game and send it to overtime. Bueckers finished with a team-high 27 points on 12-23 FG and 3-6 FG from beyond the arc. She also had five rebounds and five assists.

Her running mate, and #1 overall pick, Azzi Fudd, finished with a career-high 26 points on 11-17 FG. Surprisingly, only two of her field goals came from the three-point line. Fudd also played excellent defense, and for a large portion of the game, I felt her play on the defensive end was even more impressive than her scoring.

Jessica Shepard flirted with another triple-double. She added 14 points on 7-13 FG, nine rebounds, including four on the offensive glass, and eight assists. Aziaha James contributed 18 points off the bench on 7-11 FG, and Li Yueru added 10 more points.

Overall, the Wings outshot Seattle 54% (48-89 FG) to 51% (39-77 FG). But it was the damage they did in transition (23-9 fast break advantage) and inside the paint (62-44) that helped them secure the victory. They also had 30 assists and only nine turnovers. The road team forced Seattle into 13 turnovers, and they outscored the Storm 20-12 in points off turnovers. The Wings’ bench also outscored Seattle’s reserves 35-20.

Game Breakdown

Dominique Malonga scored inside the paint for the game’s first basket. Jessica Shepard connected on a short-corner jumper. Seattle found Malonga in transition for two. Dallas got a steal near midcourt that led to an uncontested layup for Awak Kuier. Flau’jae Johnson drove and dished to Malonga for another easy layup to put Seattle ahead 6-4.

After a couple of empty possessions by both teams, Paige Bueckers scored on back-to-back plays to give Dallas the lead. Zia Cooke knocked down a three-pointer at the top of the arc. From there, the Wings went on a 9-0 run that was capped off with five consecutive points from Azzi Fudd. Awa Fam ended the Wings’ run with a midrange jumper and two free throws. Bueckers hit a nifty spin move that splashed cleanly through the net as the Wings led 19-13.

With the injury to Jade Melbourne, Taina Mair was activated from her developmental spot. Mair checked in late in the first period and was fouled, adding two points from the line. Li Yueru collected two offensive rebounds on the same possession and found Maddy Siegrist under the rim for the open layup. Aziaha James made a midrange jumper and a corner three to end the quarter. The Dallas Wings led 26-19.

Flau’jae Johnson drilled a corner three to open the second period. Sug Sutton stole the ball and moved the ball up to Kuier for the layup. Arike Ogunbowale added her first two points from the free throw line. Paige stole the ball away from Malonga and found Fudd near the rim for the layup. That put the Wings ahead 32-23 and forced Coach Sonia Raman to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Natisha Hiedman turned the ball over on a bad pass, and Arike found Jessica Shepard for an open layup. After another Seattle miss, the Wings got multiple looks with a couple of offensive rebounds. That eventually led to a Showtime pass by Ogunbowale to Shepard for another open layup. That extended Dallas’s lead to 13 at 36-23.

The Storm responded with a quick 8-0 run. Zia Cooke and Flau’jae Johnson hit back-to-back three-pointers. Then Cooke scored again on a midrange pull-up. That forced Wings’ Coach Jose Fernandez to call a timeout as Seattle had cut its deficit to five. The home team forced a 24-second shot clock violation. Then Flau’jae added an And-1. Seattle briefly took a one-point lead after Natisha Hiedeman knocked down a triple. The Wings retook the lead a moment later. The Storm finished the second quarter on a 19-4 run overall. A basket by Hiedeman and a corner triple from Malonga put the Storm ahead 42-40 as the two teams entered the locker rooms at the midway point.

Seattle picked up where they left off at the end of the first half. The Storm opened the third quarter on a 10-4 run to extend their lead to eight at 52-44. Malonga and Katie Lou Samuelson capped off the run with back-to-back three-pointers and forced Coach Fernandez to call another timeout.

Out of the break, Azzi Fudd added two from the line and another two with a pull-up baseline jumper. A three by Fam and another score by Hiedeman pushed Seattle’s lead to nine at 59-50.

Li Yueru checked in and knocked down a three-pointer. Then scored a transition layup to cut the Storm’s lead to four. Fudd then hit another jumper, and Paige Bueckers drove to the rim to tie the game at 59-59.

Awa Fam answered back with another three-ball. A Zia Cooke basket put Seattle ahead by seven. The Wings finished the third period on an 8-0 run. James got to the rim. Then Seattle left Azzi Fudd open for an uncontested three. Li Yueru drilled a corner three as time expired to put Dallas ahead 67-66.

Fudd scored again to open the fourth period. Dominique Malonga scored again. Siegrist knocked down a three-pointer. Another basket by Siegrist and Fudd extended the Wings’ lead to eight at 76-68. Seattle answered back with an 8-2 run.

After Seattle cut the deficit to two, the Wings scored four quick points that included a basket from James and an open-court steal and score by Fudd. The two teams went back-and-forth as Fudd, Fam, Malonga, Shepard, and Hiedeman all scored nearly every trip down the court.

The final two minutes were about as epic as a regular-season game can get. Paige Bueckers was unbelievable, scoring eight of her 18 points in the final 1:12. The Wings needed all eight points because Seattle got big baskets from Hiedeman and Dominique Malonga. Dom had a chance to win the game in the final five seconds, but her shot fell short, and the two teams headed to OT with the game tied 96-96.

Aziaha James got on the board first for Dallas in the OT period. Malonga scored a short jumper for Seattle. Flau’jae was fouled and made both free throws. James scored again, and that was followed by back-to-back baskets by Paige Bueckers. Fam knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the game. Malonga and Bueckers swapped baskets on each end. Bueckers hit another critical three-pointer to give the Wings a two-point lead. Dom was fouled but split the two free throws, as it remained a one-point game. The two teams swapped leads four times in the final minute of OT. Azzi Fudd put the Wings ahead for the final time with 13 seconds left in the game. Seattle had two more chances to win or tie the game, but Malonga lost the ball driving into traffic, and the ball was taken away by Jessica Shepard. Seattle was forced to foul Aziaha James with less than two seconds left in the game. She split the two free throws, giving the Storm one last shot, but Natisha Hiedeman missed a 33-foot three-pointer that would have won Seattle the game.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (3-15) host Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty (11-6) on Thursday, June 25th at 7:00 PM. This will be the first matchup between these two teams this season.

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Photography Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography
Thanks to Her Hoop Stats and Across the Timeline for being great resources!

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