ARLINGTON — Rookie standout Paige Bueckers — who practiced with the Dallas Wings in a non-contact capacity on Thursday — should soon make her return to the court after concussion protocol knocked her out of the team’s last three games.
As Bueckers watched from the sidelines, the Wings (1–8) dropped their fourth straight contest in a 93-79 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks (3–6) on Friday at College Park Center and surely missed her presence.
“They exposed us more than anyone has for not having a point guard these past three games,” Wings coach Chris Koclanes said. “That was very evident tonight.”
Bueckers’ return will be more than welcome (she averaged 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists through six games before injury). But as she re-enters the fold, the Wings will lose two other key pieces — Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsöder — to FIBA Women’s Eurobasket from June 18-29.
McCowan, a 6-7 center, departs to play for Turkey on June 7 and Geiselsöder, a 6-4 center, reports June 14 to play for Germany. Their Wings contracts will be suspended while they compete in Europe and the two are expected to rejoin the team ahead of the July 3 home game against the Phoenix Mercury.
Here’s why this matters.
Even with McCowan (7 points, 2 rebounds) and Geiselsöder (11 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) on the court for a combined 49 minutes, the Wings struggled to hang with a physical Sparks team that also had a huge size advantage. Azura Stevens, the Sparks’ 6-6 center, recorded a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and also recorded six rebounds. Dearica Hamby, a 6-3 forward, was 8-of-12 from the floor and dropped 20 points.
And 6-4 forward Cameron Brink, who has been recovering from an ACL injury, wasn’t even playing (though she, like Bueckers, watched from the sidelines).
Apart from McCowan, Geiselsoder and NaLyssa Smith, who played just seven minutes on Friday, most of the Wings players hover around 6-0. Five players on the team are under that mark.
The Wings lack of size has been an issue all season, but it was glaring on Friday from the opening tip onward. Dallas struggled to find space, and early in the first quarter had already given up two turnovers that the Sparks had converted into five points.
On the night, the Wings finished with 15 turnovers, as the Sparks made five blocks and nine steals. They pretty much silenced Arike Ogunbowale, who has struggled by her standards this season. She finished with eight points and shot 4-of-10 from the floor.
While DiJonai Carrington hustled to a team-high 16 points, she also found herself frustrated by the Sparks’s swarming defense and was responsible for seven of the Wings’ turnovers.
“They disrupted us a ton and it was really tough to get organization out there,” Koclanes said.
Geiselsöder, who recently won a French league title, reported to the Wings shortly after the season began. She has shown a lot of promise early and has already bought into the team.
“I mean, the score today doesn’t really show it and today was a little low,” Geiselsöder said. “But we can see that we’re getting better and better.”
The Wings look to make forward progress as the season continues on. But Geiselsöder and McCowan are soon headed overseas and Dallas’ next few opponents aren’t getting any smaller.
Find more Wings coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Five teenagers were hurt after a crime spree ended in a crash. Police say they found multiple handguns inside the vehicle after the crash, and all five teens were taken to the hospital.
DALLAS – Five teenagers were hospitalized late Tuesday night after crashing a carjacked sedan into a traffic light pole during a brief police chase, Dallas authorities said.
What we know:
The incident began at 10:37 p.m. in Old East Dallas, where a man was carjacked at gunpoint by a group of armed juvenile suspects in the 4500 block of Live Oak Street, according to Dallas Police Department records. The suspects left the scene in the victim’s white Honda sedan.
Just before 11 p.m., a Flock license plate recognition camera flagged the stolen vehicle at an apartment complex in the 9400 block of Bruton Road in Pleasant Grove.
Responding patrol officers spotted the Honda traveling west on Bruton Road near South Buckner Boulevard. When officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the driver accelerated and sped off, initiating a pursuit.
The chase came to a violent end at 11:02 p.m. at the intersection of Bruton Road and Second Avenue. Police said the driver lost control of the sedan and slammed directly into a steel traffic signal support pole.
Officers found five teenagers inside the heavily damaged vehicle. Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics took all five suspects to local hospitals. Police said some of the teenagers suffered serious injuries, but all are expected to survive.
Investigators recovered multiple handguns from inside the crashed vehicle.
What’s next:
Detectives from the Dallas Police Department’s robbery and vehicular crimes units, alongside crime scene investigators and patrol officers, are continuing to investigate the incident. Charges against the juveniles are pending.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Dallas Police officers at the scene.
In need of help on the edge, the Dallas Cowboys tried to make a huge move this offseason. They made multiple attempts to trade for Las Vegas Raiders superstar Maxx Crosby, but were never able to get a deal done.
Once that one was off the table, they decided to send a fourth round pick to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for veteran Rashan Gary. The move was criticized, which is rather confusing when you think about it. Dallas gave up a mid-round pick, and reworked his contract to where it hardly makes any impact on a salary cap. They also filled a position of a great need with a player who might not threaten to lead the league in sacks, but is well-rounded and can help against the run just as much as he does when rushing the passer.
Gary is entering his eighth season in the league and has 271 tackles and 46.5 sacks. He’s coming off another solid campaign, which is why he’s No. 9 on our list of top 10 players on the Cowboys’ roster.
Gary’s numbers in 2025 were respectable, but could be misleading. He was on pace to record 18 sacks, as he had 7.5 through the first seven games of the year. He then disappeared for the final nine games, recording no sacks while struggling to generate pressure.
That led to his season as a whole being considered rather disappointing, which is why the Packers were willing to move on. It’s also why Dallas was able to convince him to take a pay cut after he joined their team. What was most frustrating for Green Bay was the fact that they needed him to step up when Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL late in the year and Gary was unable to do so.
One thing critics of the move are failing to see is the fact that Dallas doesn’t need Gary to record double-digit sacks. They need him to be the veteran voice for a group of young pass rushers who are trying to find their footing in the league.
Second year player, Donovan Ezeiruaku, and rookie Malachi Lawrence both have the talent to be game-changers off of the edge. What they don’t have, is the experience. That’s where Gary comes in.
As those two continue to develop, Gary will be the stabilizing veteran force who can make plays on early downs, while also being disruptive as a pass rusher. We can’t ignore the struggles that he had in 2025, but perhaps the change of scenery will give him some motivation to turn back the clock. And Dallas didn’t have to give up much to give him that opportunity.
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