Another round of upsets tore through the WNBA over the long weekend, with the youth-powered No. 11 Dallas Wings grabbing headlines behind Thursday's 98-89 win over the No. 2 Phoenix Mercury.
With injured Dallas stars DiJonai Carrington and Arike Ogunbowale forced to watch from the sidelines, four Wings rookies started Thursday's matchup — the most first-year starters on any WNBA team since 2000.
The team's young core stepped up and shined, with Aziaha James, Paige Bueckers, and JJ Quinerly combining for 68 points to outlast Phoenix forward Kahleah Copper's game-leading 33-point performance.
"The rookies were fantastic," Copper said afterwards. "They came out with no fear, as you should. They played free, they played aggressive, and they showed what they could do."
While the Mercury's two-game losing streak has yet to impact their spot in the current WNBA standings, it did widen the gap at the top of the table.
Phoenix's stumble gave No. 1 Minnesota a 4.5-game lead over the field, with the Lynx ending the weekend on a 3-0 run to avenge last Tuesday's WNBA Commissioner's Cup loss.
Also climbing the ranks was the No. 4 Seattle Storm, who downed both No. 5 Atlanta and No. 3 New York to pull within a half-game of the skidding Liberty.
As for the 2025 Commissioner's Cup champs, No. 7 Indiana opened their long weekend slate with a massive 81-54 Thursday win against No. 8 Las Vegas — the Fever's first victory over the Aces since 2019 — before narrowly falling 89-87 to the No. 10 LA Sparks on Saturday.
How to watch the Dallas Wings vs. Phoenix Mercury WNBA game
After falling on the road to Dallas last Thursday, Phoenix will hope Monday's home-court advantage will snap their two-loss streak as they try their luck against Wings again at 10 PM ET.
The rematch will air live on WNBA League Pass.