PHOENIX (Azat TV) – The Dallas Wings’ momentum heading into the 2026 WNBA postseason hit a significant snag on Monday night, as the team surrendered an 11-point fourth-quarter lead to fall 87-86 to the Phoenix Mercury. The loss snaps a six-game winning streak for Dallas (26-17) and keeps the team tied for sixth place in the league standings with the final days of the regular season remaining.
A Fourth-Quarter Collapse
Despite leading by as many as 14 points earlier in the contest, the Wings could not contain Mercury star Kahleah Copper in the final frame. Copper erupted for 16 of her game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter alone, ultimately delivering the decisive blow with a layup off a backdoor cut with just 2.4 seconds remaining. According to FOX Sports, a pivotal moment occurred with 13.3 seconds left when an overturned foul call favored Phoenix, leading to the jump ball that set up Copper’s winning play. The Wings’ final opportunity vanished as a last-second 3-point attempt by Paige Bueckers failed to connect.
Bueckers, who recorded 30 points and seven assists, set a new Dallas franchise record for points in a single season, reaching 853. Jessica Shepard added a double-double with 17 points and 19 rebounds, but the team’s inability to capitalize at the charity stripe—converting only 14 of 21 free-throw attempts—proved costly in a one-point defeat.
Playoff Seeding Implications
The defeat complicates Dallas’s path to securing a favorable seed. Entering Monday, the Wings were in a tight battle for middle-of-the-pack positioning. The Dallas Morning News reports that the Wings remain locked in a cluster with the New York Liberty and Washington Mystics. Because the Wings lost the regular-season series to the Mystics, they currently lack the tiebreaker advantage needed to climb higher in the event of identical records.
With only one game remaining on the regular-season schedule—a Wednesday matchup against the Seattle Storm—the Wings must now regroup. While a win on Wednesday would solidify their standing, the team no longer controls its own destiny regarding a jump to the fifth seed, as their placement now hinges on the outcomes of games involving the Liberty, Mystics, and Indiana Fever.