Lynx 99, Wings 84: Big Third Quarter Leads to Win in Season Opener

Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx faced off against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings to open up the 2025 WNBA regular season on Friday in Texas, using a big second half to come away victorious.

At long last, the 2025 WNBA regular season tipped off Friday with a trio of games in the WNBA, headlined by the Minnesota Lynx and Dallas Wings kicking things off in a battle at College Park Center in Texas.

With Minnesota missing a few key players and Dallas featuring a new-look squad, the two squads went back and forth in Arlington, 99-84.

Both teams didn’t have the greatest first half on Friday, though that is somewhat expected with the first game of the year. Minnesota struggled a bit defensively and allowed the Wings to grab some momentum at various points in the opening half, while Dallas, you could tell, is still trying to get acclimated as a team with new faces. As a result, the two teams entered halftime knotted up at 46-46.

In the second half, the Lynx stepped on the gas and pulled away, using a big third quarter that resulted in Minnesota outscoring Dallas 35-20 in that frame to create enough room to coast to a season-opening win. The Lynx went on to lead by as much as 21 points before the final buzzer sounded.

Balanced Attack

Numerous Lynx players stepped up at various points in the game, resulting in a spread-out attack offensively with four players finishing in double figures.

Napheesa Collier led the way for Minnesota with an MVP-type performance that resulted in 34 points, four rebounds, and three assists over 32 minutes.

Following Collier was Courtney Williams with 25 points, nine assists, and four rebounds, Jessica Shepard with 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, and Diamond Miller with 13 points, three assists, and two steals off the bench.

In the third quarter alone, Collier and Williams put on a show, with Collier tallying 18 points and Williams posting 15 points in that quarter alone.

Stepping Up As Starters

With Kayla McBride (personal reasons) and Alanna Smith (quad) inactive to start the season, Minnesota turned to Karlie Samuelson and Shepard to step into the starting lineup against Dallas.

Shepard impressed in her return to the court after not playing in the WNBA in 2024, providing a spark early on to finish in double figures in 29 minutes as the starting post.

Samuelson, making her Lynx debut, took the floor for 25 minutes and put forth five points, three rebounds, and three assists while shooting 2-for-5 from the field and 1-of-3 from deep.

Debut of Bueckers

Minnesota native and No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Paige Bueckers, made her long-awaited WNBA debut against Minnesota, making it a fitting first game for the young superstar against her childhood favorite and hometown team.

Bueckers recorded her first WNBA bucket just under a minute into the game, tallying the first points of the game.

Bueckers capped off her pro debut with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and one block in 30 minutes, shooting 3-of-10 from the field.

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Next Up

With the regular season opener in the books, the Lynx will remain on the road this weekend while wrapping up a two-game road trip to start the year against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Minnesota and Los Angeles will tip off at 5 PM CT from Crypto.com Arena, with the game viewable on WNBA League Pass and locally in Minnesota on FanDuel Sports Network North.