Kelsey Plum, the WNBA's leading scorer this season, was back for the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday, but it wasn't enough as the Dallas Wings won 104-96 behind Paige Bueckers' career-high 14 assists and a season-high 30 points from fellow guard Arike Ogunbowale.
Plum, who missed the previous three games with an ankle injury, had 27 points as she improved her season scoring average to 26.9 points. But the Wings had too much offensive power, with all five starters scoring in double figures as Dallas improved to 7-3.
That is the Wings' best record through their first 10 games since the franchise moved to Dallas in 2016.
Last season, the Wings didn't reach seven victories until July 22 and finished 10-34, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
Now, Dallas is second in the standings behind 8-2 Minnesota. Those teams meet Tuesday in Minneapolis in a homecoming game for Bueckers, a Minnesota native.
The Wings are 4-1 on the road after Friday's win at Crypto.com Arena.
"I don't think anybody in the league or probably around the country thought we'd be 7-3 right now," Dallas first-year coach Jose Fernandez said. "[But] the locker room did, and I did, and our staff did. We continue to learn from the wins as much as we learned from those three losses [in which] we had leads in the fourth quarter."
Ogunbowale made six 3-pointers and had six rebounds and six assists. Forward Jessica Shepard had 22 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Bueckers had 18 points, and her 14 assists tied the Wings' franchise record.
She also tied Atlanta's Jordin Canada for the most assists in a game this season.
Fernandez said he completely trusts Bueckers' decision-making.
"She has a good feel on pick-and-roll coverages, in the middle of the floor, in the slot, on the side," Fernandez said. "Paige is going to get everybody's best defender night in and night out, and now she's playing primarily at the point guard spot. She just makes really, really good reads."
The Sparks dropped to 4-6 overall and 1-5 at home. They were outscored 27-18 in the fourth quarter.
Plum made 10 of 16 shots and has a double-digit scoring streak going back to last season.
