On July 26, the Wings preview: Li Yuanru strives for another breakout, will Pei Qi hand the Valkyries a fourth consecutive defeat?

At 10 AM Beijing time on July 26, the Dallas Wings will take on the Golden State Valkyries in an away game. In the previous match, Li Yuanru scored 8 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, aiding the Wings in a significant win over her old team, the Storm, thus breaking a four-game losing streak. Will she be able to showcase an improved performance against the Valkyries?

In the 12 games since joining the Wings, Li Yuanru has averaged 8.8 points and 7.4 rebounds, including a career-high 15 rebounds in the game against the Dream on June 25. She has recorded a double-double three times, including her season-best performance of 18 points and 10 rebounds against the Sky on July 10. In contrast, during her nine games with the Storm, Li Yuanru averaged only 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds, without ever achieving double digits in either scoring or rebounding.

Currently, the Wings hold a record of 7 wins and 17 losses, placing them second to last in the league, just above the Connecticut Sun, making this season quite challenging so far. However, in a home game on June 18, they defeated the Valkyries, ending a seven-game losing streak, and subsequently entered a phase of alternating wins and losses.

Since that game, the Wings have recorded 6 wins and 6 losses, including their first match after the All-Star break, where they triumphed over the Storm with a score of 87-63. Ogunbowale scored 20 points in that victory, raising her season average to 15.9 points. In the earlier game against the Valkyries, she also scored 19 points.

The top pick, Pei Qi, just participated in her first All-Star game, where she also scored 20 points against the Valkyries. In the last game against the Storm, Pei Qi contributed 14 points and 6 assists, tying the record for "fastest to reach 300 points and 100 assists" held by Caitlin Clark. Furthermore, she has scored in double digits in all 19 games she has played.

“This is all thanks to my teammates and our commitment to a team-oriented basketball philosophy,” Pei Qi stated after the game. “None of us strays from the rhythm to chase personal scoring or to inflate our stats. When we play team basketball like this, everything progresses as it should.”

The Golden State Valkyries currently have a record of 10 wins and 12 losses, ranking 9th in the league, and are on a three-game losing streak. To make matters worse, All-Star player Keira Thornton is expected to miss this game due to a leg injury.