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Paige Bueckers debuted at WNBA on Friday.
The former Uconn Huskies star had 10 points on 3-of-10 from the field with seven rebounds and two assists against Minnesota Lynx. However, Dallas Wings fell briefly in their first match of the season, 99-84.
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Dallas Wings Guard Paige Bueckers (5) talks to head coach Chris Koclanes, right, in the first half of a WNBA basketball match against Minnesota Lynx, Friday 16. May 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
Bueckers suggested that she had a sigh of relief after her first career game was done.
“The first is always the hardest, normal,” BUEKERS said. “Not to say that it will not be harder, but just to be able to have a starting point and continue to build it. And then there are no more questions about what it will be on your first WNBA game. Now you have (to) pass it.”
Wings head coach Chris Koclanes spoke glowing about BUeckers and said Rookie was able to handle the hype and pressure that comes with her first season in W.
“She has been amazing. She is special in how she is able to handle things with such grace,” Koclanes said. “As a team that really preaching, plenty of attention to developing our mental games and just dealing with everything else, all the exterior expectations, the outside noise and really trying to postpone them and give them all kinds of different ways of staying present.
Dallas Wings Guard Paige Bueckers warms up before a WNBA basketball match against Minnesota Lynx, Friday 16. May 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Richard Rodriguez)
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“Credit to Paige, she comes in individually with an incredible amount of personal attention to it and is already living that way,” Koclanes said. “It matched well with our style and what we try to create with the type of person she already is.”
ARIKE OGUNBOWALE had 16 points to lead the wings. Nykommer Dijonai Carrington had 15 points in his Dallas debut.
Napheesa Collier had 34 points to lead Lynx. Courtney Williams had 25 points and nine assists.
Minnesota Lynx Guard Courtney Williams (10) drives the ball past Dallas Wings Guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) in the second half of a WNBA Basketball match on Friday, May 16, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
Lynx lost in the WNBA final last season to New York Liberty. They ended the year 30-10.
