Bueckers' 22 points, 11 rebounds help Wings beat Sky 96-81, extend win streak to 5 games

DALLAS (AP) — Paige Bueckers had 22 points and 11 assists, Jessica Shepard added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Dallas Wings beat the Chicago Sky 96-91 on Sunday.

The Wings (16-8) have won a season-high five straight games, their longest streak since also winning five in a row in 2023.

Arike Ogunbowale scored 17 points and Azzi Fudd 16 for Dallas at the American Airlines Center, home of the NBA’s Mavericks, in front of a crowd of 13,236.

Li Yueru had 10 points and a season-high 10 rebounds and slowed down Chicago's Kamilla Cardoso after a hot start. Cardoso had six points on 3-of-5 shooting and five rebounds in the first five minutes before Yueru came off the bench.

Cardoso finished 6 of 12 from the field with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Fudd hit a 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired and then blocked a shot at the other end before Shepard made layup that gave Dallas the lead for good with 3:07 left. Ogunbowale made a layup with 42 seconds left that capped a 15-5 run and made it 94-89.

Sydney Taylor led the Sky (7-16) with 20 points, Azura Stevens added 18 and a season-high 13 rebounds, and Natasha Cloud scored 15.

Dallas' Alanna Smith left the game in the first half due to a left leg injury and did not return.

Chicago's Skylar Diggins missed her third consecutive game due to a knee injury. The six-time All-WNBA pick (four first-team selections), who signed a two-year deal with the club in April, announced Monday on Instagram that she had been informed by the club that she would be coming off the bench. The soon-to-be 36-year-old missed her first game Tuesday, a 77-66 win at Phoenix, despite not appearing on the injury report until 90 minutes before tipoff.

Diggins has started the last 277 regular-season games she has played, beginning in 2016 for Dallas.

Sky: Host Seattle on Wednesday.

Wings: Host New York on Thursday.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) celebrates after scoring a 3-point basket during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Chicago Sky in Dallas, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso (10) shoots against Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard (32) reacts after scoring during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Chicago Sky in Dallas, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers, right, drives against Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, left, during the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

MONTREAL (AP) — Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was tossed from the New York Liberty's 93-91 loss to Toronto on Sunday after she threw a shoe that hit Tempo player Marina Mabrey in the back late in the fourth quarter.

Laney-Hamilton was trying to get the sneaker back to teammate Jonquel Jones after it had fallen off. The errant toss ended up hitting Mabrey. After a review, the officials gave her a technical foul — her second of the game — for throwing a “projectile on the court.”

The incident occurred with 1:48 left in the game and after Mabrey hit the free throw, Toronto had a 91-89 lead. The Liberty had rallied from 20 points down before falling short.

“I’ve never seen anything like that. We had all the momentum in the world. A shoe hit somebody. Ejected, free throws. I’ve also never seen a ref make such an atrocious call when he’s on the other side of the floor,” Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said after the game.

The pool report didn't mention intent, just that the shoe hit Mabrey in the back and Laney-Hamilton was given the technical.

DeMarco said that Laney-Hamilton wasn't trying to hit Mabrey, who agreed that's what happened.

“I had to take a couple breaths,” Mabrey said of her reaction to the shoe hitting her. “But I think she was really just trying to get the shoe back to JJ. But I’ll take the free throw.”

Mabrey and Laney-Hamilton had been jawing at each other the entire game and both were called for a technical foul in the third quarter.

Toronto coach Sandy Brondello, who used to coach the Liberty, said she thought the shoe hitting Mabrey was unintentional.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Toronto Tempo's Marina Mabrey (3) gestures after missing a 3-point basket during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings in Montreal, Friday, July 10, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Tempo's Marina Mabrey (3) greets fans following her team's win over the New York Liberty in a WNBA basketball game in Montreal, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)