Dallas Wings

Dallas was "a little depleted from injuries," Jose Fernandez said, citing Alanna Smith, "our best interior defender," and a first-round pick he didn't name: "also our best perimeter defender, shooter." His point: injuries took his best defender inside and out.

Paige Bueckers is "taking it hard, right? Because she carries that load and she's a winner," Dallas Wings coach Jose Fernandez said on Oct. 2. He called her a first-team All-WNBA player and said the series should not reflect on her season.

Paige Bueckers "should be first-team WNBA," Arike Ogunbowale said of her Dallas Wings teammate. "If not, I feel like that shit's rigged because she's done everything for this team." She called Bueckers a "generational player" who "willed us throughout the whole season."

Arike Ogunbowale defended Dallas Wings coach Jose Fernandez: "he deserves a lot of praise because he's taken this team from the bottom to... what we did this year." She said Fernandez "takes everything on the chin."

"They went the extra inch and that's what got them the win." Arike Ogunbowale said the Dallas Wings didn't match the Valkyries' intensity on loose balls and rebounds during their final pushes. Losing the lead was disappointing, but it's hard to keep one against Golden State.