The Dallas Wings lost their first game in July on Monday night, 99-98 to the New York Liberty in overtime at College Park Center.

The Wings played without All-Star guard Paige Bueckers, who was injured in a game Sunday.

The game was a makeup from last Thursday after the Liberty couldn’t make it to Dallas due to mechanical issues with their charter plane.

This was the first time this season the Wings played back-to-back games; the Wings defeated the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday afternoon to win their sixth straight game, the most in franchise history.

Even with the loss - and without Bueckers - the Wings were able to show their depth.

Bueckers collided with Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike on Sunday and hit the back of her head on the floor late in the fourth quarter and didn’t return to the game.

Bueckers doesn’t have a concussion but remained out due to soreness. Bueckers is in the midst of an MVP-caliber season, averaging 20.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists. Bueckers was named a starter for the All-Star Game on Saturday and is still expected to play.

Despite not having their star player, the Wings had players step up.

Arike Ogunbowale continues to find her form again and had 29 points. Rookie guard Azzi Fudd had 15 points and shot 60% from 3-point range against the Liberty. Jessica Shepard added another double-double, her sixth in a row. She had 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Wings.

“I was very proud of our group, we played everybody and got a lot of minutes. Paige is a very, very important part of our team, one of the best players in the entire world. So for us to play without her, a possession here, a possession there, shows the type of character we have in the locker room,” Wings head coach Jose Fernandez said.

The Wings were behind most of the first half, but never by much. They were able to gain momentum and take the lead from the Liberty in the third thanks to strong defense. The Wings only allowed the Liberty to score one point during the first six minutes of the third.

After the Wings outscored the Liberty 21-9 in the third quarter they had the lead most of the fourth, but after a technical foul on Fernandez, the game went into overtime thanks to two clutch free throws from Ogunbowale.

“I think today was actually kind of bad,” Ogunbowale said about the calls. “We can’t really worry about that, it’s hard not to worry about that, but we still just have to control what we can control.”

The Wings and Liberty went back and forth in OT, but the Wings couldn’t stop the Liberty’s duo of Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. Stewart had 33 points and 13 rebounds and Ionescu had 21 points, with 12 of them in overtime.

The Wings had a chance to win the game but Ogunbowale just missed the winning layup.

The Wings now will travel to Portland to play the Fire on Wednesday night for their final game before the All-Star break. Bueckers’ availability for Wednesday’s game has not been announced.

The Wings will have two players in the All-Star Game this year, in Bueckers and Shepard, who is making her first All-Star Game appearance.

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