The Las Vegas Aces had an opportunity to lock up the Western Conference bid in the Commissioner's Cup on Monday night in Dallas.
They blew it. Badly.
Five Wings finished in double figures, led by a game-high 22 points from veteran Arike Ogunbowale, as Dallas destroyed Las Vegas, 96-66. The 30-point margin was the highest for Dallas in Wings-Aces series history.
The Wings (9-5) improved to 2-0 against Las Vegas this season while snapping the defending champions' six-game win streak. Perspective: Dallas is responsible for two of the Aces' four losses this season.
We love a home dub 🔥
The @DallasWings secured the win against the Aces, 96-66.
Arike Ogunbowale was instrumental in this win, bringing in 22 PTS, 7 AST, 5 3PM, 4 REB, and 2 STL#ho | 2026 WNBA Commissioner's Cup | @coinbase pic.twitter.com/JGhltzl13c
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 16, 2026
And while the Wings are a half-game behind the fourth-place Atlanta Dream (9-4) overall, they sit third in the Western Conference behind the Aces and are just two games back of first-place Minnesota Lynx in the league standings.
Since Dallas dropped to 1-2 on May 14 after back-to-back home losses to the Dream and Lynx, and head coach Jose Fernandez said, "There’s selfishness in this locker room," the Wings are 8-3.
During the 11-game stretch, they rank third in field-goal percentage (.451), fourth in rebounding (36.1), and fifth in scoring (88.1).
Most importantly, Dallas ranks No. 1 with 24.0 assists per game in that span.
Far from selfish.
"It was my job to come here and talk about standards and the way that we wanted to play, and then go from a coach-led team to a player-led team," Fernandez said. "That was a great response from them today."
Different in Dallas
Since Ogunbowale came into the league in 2019, she's suffered through plenty of beatdowns at the hands of the Aces.
The Wings were 3-20 against Las Vegas dating back to the 2019 campaign, losing by an average final of 97.7 to 88.6. The Aces were shooting .468 from the floor against the Wings, who were shooting just .408.
"That's a lot of losses to them," Ogunbowale said. "But it's a new year, new team, new coaching staff, and we're just ready to compete with anybody."
The proof: In winning both games this season, the Wings have outscored the Aces 191-153 (95.5 to 76.5), while shooting .493 from the floor. Conversely, Las Vegas is shooting .420 against the Wings.
"We just have a lot of players," Ogunbowale said. "It's kind of hard to not be able to compete with any team with the people that we have on this roster, the coaching staff that we have, and we're always put in a position to win the game."
Joining Ogunbowale on the stat sheet was Jessica Shepard, who was one assist shy of her third triple-double of the year — and second against the Aces — finishing with 15 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists.
Azzi Fudd had the top shooting night of her career, going 8 of 9 from the field to finish with 19 points. Paige Bueckers and Aziaha James added 10 points apiece. Bueckers and Ogunbowale each added seven assists.
"I thought when she created, she looked to find people," Fernandez said about Ogunbowale. "It's been a big growth in Arike, because she's had to be a high-volume type of (player). Well, she doesn't have to be that on this team."
Arike Ogunbowale for THREE 😮💨
Jessica Shepard with a quarterback pass across the court for her 9th assist 🤝#WNBAonUSA | Wings 🪽 pic.twitter.com/CdRRx6d3x6
— USA Sports (@usasports) June 16, 2026
Must-Win in Phoenix
With the Lynx smothering out the Fire in Minneapolis on Monday, the Aces are now in must-win mode when they visit Phoenix on Wednesday.
Win, and they're in. Lose, and they have to hope the Sparks beat the Lynx in Los Angeles the same night.
Aces coach Becky Hammon didn't hesitate when asked where the defense was most problematic in the demolition loss to the Wings.
"Pretty much everywhere," Hammon said. "We didn't defend anything tonight."
In the paint, off the pick-and-roll, at the 3-point line, from mid-range — the Aces were horrendous in every aspect in the one area Hammon stressed after two preseason games, insisting she wasn't sure how her defense was going to respond this season.
She has valid concerns, considering the Aces are allowing the league's sixth-highest 87.3 points per game. Teams are shooting 36.7% from 3-point range — third-highest in the WNBA.
Las Vegas opponents are also scoring 37.4 points in the paint, seventh-most in the WNBA, which should raise an eyebrow when you have a frontcourt with A'ja Wilson and NaLyssa Smith.
Monday night, the Wings were dominant in the paint, scoring 42 points on 21 of 37 shooting while outrebounding the Aces, 41-31.
And while Las Vegas shot a season-low .397 from the floor and matched its season low with 66 points, Dallas shot .493 from the field and scored 96 or more points for the fourth time this year.
"I give myself 24 hours, win or loss, to really digest and figure out what I need to do better; how can I show up better for my team?" Wilson said about flushing the loss and focusing on the next game. "After that, you gotta lock into Phoenix. ... If our defense doesn't change, if we don't get better on the defensive end, the L's are just gonna start racking up.
"Point blank, period."
W.G. Ramirez is a veteran sports writer from Las Vegas and a Senior Staff Writer at Ballislife.com. Follow him on X at @WillieGRamirez.
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