ARLINGTON — On the same day that point guard Paige Bueckers was named WNBA Rookie of the Month for June, it was only fitting that all of the Dallas Wings rookies showed out in the 98-89 win against the Phoenix Mercury.

Only eight Wings players were available for Thursday’s game at the College Park Center. DiJonai Carrington missed her fifth game in a row with a rib injury, and Arike Ogunbowale was out with a left thumb injury.

“We faced a lot of adversity this whole week, and we never gave up on ourselves,” small forward Aziaha James said after the win. “We stayed together, we stayed composed and we did what we had to do tonight.”

Five of the eight available players are rookies, and four of them started.

“The rooks, we always compete in practice against the vets and know that when it’s game time we’re ready whenever our number’s called,” James said. “So tonight was definitely the rooks’ night.”

Rookies scored 72 of the team’s points Thursday.

James and Bueckers started alongside rookies JJ Quinerly and Luisa Geiselsöder. The only starter who was not a rookie was center Li Yueru, in her third season in the WNBA.

In the first half, 77% of the team’s 61 points were scored by the rookie starters.

Small forward Aziaha James led the group with 20 points at the half, more than three times her average of 6.7 points per game. She finished the game with 28 points, six rebounds and six assists. James was the 12th pick of the 2025 draft, coming to Dallas from North Carolina State.

“Obviously it was the Aziaha James game, so that was extremely fun to watch and to be a part of,” Bueckers said. “…To be fearless and to just be confident, I’m so happy for her, because she has it in her. She’s always had it in her.”

The four rookie starters each played more than 30 minutes of the game. Quinerly, who averages 9.1 minutes per game, played 35 minutes. James played 38 minutes, more than double her average of 16.9 minutes.

“I thought that was a really good 40 minutes tonight,” Koclanes said. “And again, not perfect, but loved our start. …We came out and we established right from the tip, how physical we were going to play and that we were going to set the tempo.”

Bueckers finished the game with 23 points, four rebounds and five assists. Quinerly had 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

“They’re just fearless, and they have tremendous belief in who’s in that locker room, regardless of who is suiting up that night,” Koclanes said of his team. “You win a game without Paige, you win a game without Arike, everyone can contribute. It’s our competitive depth, and everyone’s going to continue to buy into that.”

Find more Wings coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.