One road game is left on the regular-season calendar, and the seed attached to it is still unsettled.
The Wings tip at 9 p.m. CT Wednesday against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena, the clubs' regular-season finale on USA Network and KFAA-TV. Dallas enters at 26-17, tied with the New York Liberty for seventh and a half-game behind the Washington Mystics at 26-16, Field Level Media's preview carried by CBS Sports reported.
The Wings hold the tiebreaker over New York if the two finish knotted.
Monday's 87-86 loss in Phoenix ended a six-game winning streak and cost Dallas a cleaner path up the bracket. Wednesday is the last chance to put a result on the ledger before the playoffs open.
What a win still buys - and what it does not
A victory over Seattle does not guarantee sixth place. Washington closes against Connecticut and Chicago, two clubs already out of the postseason, so the Mystics control their own half-game edge. The cleaner overnight scenario for Dallas is simpler: beat the Storm, and hope New York loses, which would lock the No. 7 seed, per the same CBS preview.
A loss opens the door to sliding. The Liberty and Mystics both still have games; Indiana remains in the same cluster. The playoff berth itself has been secure for weeks. What remains is which opponent the first round points toward, and whether Dallas walks in on a win or on an empty road trip.
Seattle is 8-35, has dropped 18 of its last 20, and is already guaranteed last place. The Storm's 35 losses are the most by any team in WNBA history, the FLM preview said. Dallas has won all three meetings this season, including two by 20-plus points.
Soft does not mean automatic - the Wings are 10-11 on the road - but the matchup is the softest closing assignment left on the board.
Record night, unfinished business
Paige Bueckers scored 30 in Phoenix and pushed her season total to 853 points in 41 games, passing Arike Ogunbowale's franchise mark of 849 from 2023, KERA News and the AP accounts both noted. Jessica Shepard had 17 points and 19 rebounds in the same loss. Those lines travel. The quotes that followed pointed at Wednesday.
"It's something we've talked about all year, about how every possession matters on both ends of the floor," coach Jose Fernandez said after Monday's defeat, per CBS Sports. "We've got to string together some stops and stay dialed in." KERA's Alexsis Jones carried a parallel line from Fernandez: what people will remember is the last minute, and every possession still matters.
