This is tough.
Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings Suffer Big Blow for Indiana Fever Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The 18-14 Indiana Fever will be without reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark and her 16.5 points per game in Tuesday’s matchup against Paige Bueckers and the 8-24 Dallas Wings. Clark will miss her 11th straight contest due to a lingering groin injury, which now has the 23-year-old missing 20 out of Indiana’s 33 regular-season games in 2025.
It’s not just the Fever who will be without their star player for Tuesday’s matchup, though, as the Wings have now been dealt an unfortunate blow before the game.
Dallas Wings Lose Arike Ogunbowale to Injury
News hit just an hour before tip-off that the Wings will need to go to battle against Indiana without All-Star Arike Ogunbowale, one of the most important players on their roster. Ogunbowale is currently averaging 15.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals, while also knocking down 1.7 triples per game for Dallas.
Wings beat reporter Grant Afseth revealed that Ogunbowale has been ruled out for Tuesday’s matchup due to right knee soreness. This unfavorable blow comes after the 5-foot-8 guard was unable to take part in the team’s shootaround.
This appears to be a new issue for the 2020 WNBA scoring champion. She played in Dallas’ 91-78 loss to the Washington Mystics on Sunday.
This will be the first time Ogunbowale will sit out since July 9, and her status for the Wings’ matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday is now up in the air.
Wings Need Paige Bueckers to Step Up
The good news for Dallas is that Paige Bueckers has been cleared to play against Indiana amid her back issue. The WNBA Rookie of the Year frontrunner entered the matchup with the probable tag and was upgraded to available after being a full participant in the morning shootaround.
In 25 games played this season, Bueckers has averaged 18.5 points on 45.9% shooting, 4.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.2 triples in 34.2 minutes per game. The former UConn star will need to come up big against Indiana, especially with Ogunbowale out of the picture.
The Wings will need a big game from Bueckers on Tuesday if they want to snap their current five-game losing streak.
Related: WNBA Star Did Not Like What Paige Bueckers Told Her After Wings' Fourth Straight Loss
Related: Lexie Hull Shows Off Stylish Pregame Outfit for Fever-Wings
Related: Caitlin Clark Had Two Words After Indiana Fever Sign New Teammates on Monday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
