PHOENIX - Jessica Shepard lived on the glass until the clock ran out on Dallas.
Shepard finished with 17 points, 19 rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes as the Wings fell 87-86 to the Phoenix Mercury on Monday night. ESPN's box lists her 5-for-15 shooting, 7-for-12 free throws, five offensive boards and 14 on the defensive end. The Associated Press paired that line with Paige Bueckers' 30 points in a game Dallas led by 14 before the fourth-quarter collapse.
The Wings (26-17) had not lost since Aug. 17. The six-game streak ended when Kahleah Copper finished a backdoor layup with 2.4 seconds left, the AP reported, after a late jump-ball review flipped possession to Phoenix.
Control on the boards
Shepard's rebounding kept second chances alive when Dallas needed them. She assisted on several of Bueckers' looks and cleaned the defensive glass while Phoenix (16-27) chased the deficit. Early in the fourth, Dallas still led 74-63. Shepard's free throws and putbacks were part of that cushion, even as her free-throw night sat at 7-for-12 on a team that finished 14-for-21 from the line.
Bueckers reached 30 for the fourth time this season and set a Dallas record for points in a season at 853, per the AP. Arike Ogunbowale's baseline jumper with 1:43 remaining made it 81-77. Bueckers later hit from deep for an 84-81 lead.
Shepard was still on the floor for the closing sequence when Copper, who scored 16 of her 31 in the fourth, converted the winner off an Alyssa Thomas feed.
What slipped away
Thomas posted a triple-double - 15 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds - her fifth of the season, the AP said. Natasha Mack's layup with 16 seconds left cut the Wings' lead to 86-85 before the jump-ball sequence and Copper's finish. Those closing possessions outweighed Shepard's work on the glass for nearly 36 minutes.
