Wings roll past Fever in preseason matchup behind Paige Bueckers' 20 first-half points as Caitlin Clark exits early with potential injury

The Dallas Wings are looking strong ahead of the WNBA regular season, defeating the Indiana Fever 95-80 in a preseason matchup. In a preview of the two teams’ season opener on May 9, Dallas took a big lead in the second quarter and never looked back. Second-year guard Paige Bueckers led the Wings with 20 points, all of them in a hot first half. Caitlin Clark, who is continuing to warm up in her return from injury, led the Fever with a game-high 21 points.

Keeping it ROLLIN' 😤

Paige Bueckers now up to 18 PTS in the 2Q and counting!

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— WNBA (@WNBA) April 30, 2026 From her spot 🎯

Caitlin Clark knocks down her second triple, up to 14 PTS (4/5 FG) to lead all scorers!

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— WNBA (@WNBA) April 30, 2026 The Wings surged in the second quarter, outscoring Indiana 36-12 in the frame. Dallas entered halftime with a 61-46 lead after going up by 21 points in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Dallas forward Alanna Smith was assessed a flagrant 1 after a landing space foul on Clark, giving the Fever guard an extra trio of free throws. Clark, who went down relatively hard on the foul, was subbed out shortly after hitting two of the three shots. It was unclear whether Clark, who was walking a bit gingerly after the foul, was seriously injured or if she was brought back to the bench out of an abundance of caution. Shortly after, a 13-2 run to end the third quarter pulled the Fever back within single-digits, but it didn’t end up being enough to offset Dallas’ early lead. The Wings picked up the 15-point win away, setting Indiana up for revenge next week. In true preseason fashion, both Fever head coach Stephanie White and Wings head coach Jose Fernandez opted to rotate out players to test the full strength of their rosters. Indiana starters Aliyah Boston, Lexie Hull and Tyasha Harris sat out Thursday’s game with minor injuries, with White saying that they wanted to be “cautious” about playing them. By the fourth quarter, even with the score relatively close, both teams opted to rest their primary starters: Clark subbed out a little over two minutes into the third quarter, and Bueckers followed about 30 seconds later. That rotation gave all of the players a chance to shine. Fever rookie Raven Johnson put up a strong defensive performance, getting five steals in relatively limited play. Rook with the answer ☎️