The Dallas Wings fell just short of earning their second victory of the WNBA season on Friday. They were ultimately defeated by a final score of 88-84 against the Las Vegas Aces on the road. The win would have snapped a six-game losing streak, but instead Dallas has now dropped seven consecutive contests and holds a 1-11 overall record. The good news is that Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale reminded the WNBA world of their elite potential as a backcourt duo.

Expectations were high heading into the season as Bueckers was the first overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Ogunbowale, meanwhile, has been the face of the Wings for years. Together, many people around the WNBA world believed that Arike and Paige were destined for greatness.

Ogunbowale has struggled to begin the new campaign, however. Bueckers is off to a strong start to her WNBA career, but she has had to miss time because of an injury/illness.

On Friday, Ogunbowale got back on track and led the Wings with 26 points while shooting 9-17 from the field and 3-8 shooting from deep. She added eight assists, four rebounds and two steals.

“Just trying to get it together… Teammates helping out, speaking positive words,” Ogunbowale said after Friday's defeat. “It’s been a tough stretch, but just have to realize that this is just a tough stretch in a long career of good basketball and there’s still 30-something games left.

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“We talked about it, it’s just the first quarter (of the season) that happened so now we got the second, third and fourth quarter. Gotta be better and that’s what I tried to do today to help the team.”

Bueckers recorded 16 points, five assists, two rebounds and two steals. She was not quite as efficient — connecting on seven of her 19 field goal attempts and failing to find the bottom of the net on either of her two three-point shots — but she still helped keep the game competitive.

Fans likely envisioned a similar game to what they saw on Friday night when the name “Parike” was mentioned before the season. For those who may not be aware, the “Parike” nickname was given to the Ogunbowale and Bueckers-led backcourt in the preseason.

For the most part, the duo has not found much success together to begin the campaign. However, Friday's contest was an important reminder of the guards' potential as a duo. The only thing missing was the victory.