A boisterous, sold out crowd packed the seats at UTA's College Park Center on Friday in anticipation for No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers’ professional debut in the Dallas Wings 2025 season opener against the Minnesota Lynx. The University of Connecticut alum joined the Wings in the offseason as one of the team's newest rookies, following her standout collegiate career, which includes an NCAA national championship. Bueckers earned a spot in the starting lineup and recorded just shy of 30 minutes in the Wings’ first regular-season home game. She finished with 10 points, six rebounds and two assists. Her first WNBA points came 46 seconds into the game, scoring on a rebound from her own missed shot to open the scoring. Despite the crowd’s unending support, the team struggled late in the game which led to a 99-84 loss against the Lynx. “We don’t want to overreact to the loss,” Bueckers said. “We also know there is a lot of things you gotta clean up and get better at, just starting it off, starting this journey and continue to build on it the next day at practice.” The game marked the Wings’ final season at College Park Center, the team’s home for the past nine seasons. The team’s previous season in the stadium ended with a 9-31 record that petered out on a nine-game losing streak. Wings guard DiJonai Carrington focused on the positives, praising the team’s effort and the bond they built. “I think we did a great job of staying together. When we got down, we were still talking to each other on the court, on the bench, whenever we huddle together,” Carrington said. “So I like that, especially from a young team, it's easy to start to go your own ways.” Carrington scored 15 points in her debut for the Wings and added four rebounds. In the second quarter, she made a crucial steal that led to a layup by Wings forward Maddy Siegrist in the final seconds of the first half, tying the game at 46. With the team having undergone roster changes for staff and players, newly appointed head coach Chris Koclanes is set on giving everyone opportunities. He said he likes the current lineup, but will continue working to find the best fit for the team. After a nail-biting first half, the Wings started to crumble under pressure. Multiple personal fouls and turnovers found the Wings down 81-66 in the final minutes of the third quarter. The Wings tried closing the gap, but the Lynx pulled away as the game neared its end. By the four-minute mark in the fourth quarter, the Wings trailed by 17. Koclanes called a timeout to assess the damage in the final moments. Back-to-back threes from Lynx guard Courtney Williams crushed the Wings’ chance of recovery as they fell 99-84. “I think for us as well as a staff, it’s a learning process, so we’re not going to be perfect early,” Koclanes said. “We’re going to learn and get better from it, how we can best support these players and put them in positions to be successful.” The Wings will return after the weekend to face the Seattle Storm at 7 p.m. Monday at College Park Center. Live streaming for the game will be available on ION. @kaleivie_ sports-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

With their 2025 home opener set for Friday, the Dallas Wings are rolling into the summer with several changes in the works: a new staff, a rebuilt roster and one final year at College Park Center before relocating to downtown Dallas. The Wings began their partnership with CPC after relocating from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and have called Arlington home for the past nine seasons. Pending approval from the WNBA, the team will move to Dallas for the 2026 season, set to play in the heart of the city at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas. The Wings struggled to find success early in their tenure in Arlington. Despite having advanced to the semifinals in 2023, the team has yet to make it through the playoffs with a positive record. With a vast roster rebuild, the team hopes to revert to winning ways. During the off season the Wings introduced Chris Koclanes as the new head coach and Curt Miller as the new general manager and executive vice president. Koclanes was previously the defensive coordinator for the Connecticut Sun and an assistant coach at the University of Southern California. Under Koclanes, the Connecticut Sun ran a bolstering defense, leading the league in defensive scoring average and defensive field goal percentage in 2021. The coach also helped the team reach the 2019 and 2022 WNBA finals. Miller is the first general manager for the team since they moved to Arlington. He served as the Los Angeles Sparks head coach for two years and worked with Koclanes as the Connecticut Sun general manager and head coach for seven seasons. “It’s fantastic being back with Curt. He’s been a tremendous mentor for me and to have that support system there, someone who’s lived this and breathed this,” Koclanes said. The two share a vision for the team and staff. Koclanes said Miller is consistently available for guidance without overstepping, and is an invaluable resource for him and the staff. The Wings also drafted five players to the roster this preseason, including No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers. DiJonai Carrington, Tyasha Harris and NaLyssa Smith have joined the team as free agents. The Wings also obtained the reserved rights to Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, who joined as part of a four-team trade. The Wings have maintained three members from the 2024 roster: Teaira McCowan, Arike Ogunbowale and Maddy Siegrist. Ogunbowale joined the Wings out of University of Notre Dame in 2019 and became a staple for the team’s success. “I think people are catching on, and I think the players we have are gonna embody that type of style and grace and just support the city, and just put the city on the map, so I’m excited for that,” Ogunbowale said. Koclanes said he’s focused on flexibility to build a game plan that fits the roster and reflects the team’s strengths. Players already have strong chemistry, and he expects it to keep growing. The team has an autonomous dynamic, and he said he believes accountability and leadership will develop organically. Bueckers said that the team has acknowledged the challenges of a young team and is prepared for growing pains. “You never want to get used to losing, but you want to get used to learning from good games, learning from lessons, and moving forward and taking whatever you learned from the last game, the last practice, the last whatever to continue to make you better for the future,” she said. With the team’s final preseason game in the books, the Wings open up their season against the Minnesota Lynx at 6:30 p.m. Friday at College Park Center. @kaleivie_ sports-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu