Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers scored a career-high 35 points in her return to the court Wednesday night, but it came in a 93-80 loss to the Phoenix Mercury. Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, had missed three games while in concussion protocol and another one due to illness.
Bueckers became just the fourth rookie in Wings history to reach 30-plus points in a single game, with teammate Arike Ogunbowale being the last one to do so in 2019. Although Bueckers had a strong performance, it wasn’t enough for the league-worst Wings to get in the win column. Dallas lost its sixth straight to drop to 1-10, the team’s worst start since 2012 (1-11).
Here are some takeaways from Bueckers’ return:
Bueckers didn’t miss a beat
Her last game was on May 29, but Bueckers didn’t show any rust. She started the game hot and went 5 of 5 from the field in the first quarter. Her 22 points in the first half surpassed her previous personal best of 21 points. It was also the third-highest point total in a half for a rookie in franchise history.
Bueckers played 37 minutes and was efficient the entire night going 13 of 19 from the field and 5 of 7 from beyond the arc. She also contributed six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. That being said, Bueckers was not satisfied and said she could have done more to help her team.
“Felt a little winded coming back from a break and I feel like I could have used my voice more, been more disruptive. Crashed the glass more,” Bueckers said postgame.
The rest of the Wings struggled mightily
While Bueckers scored 22 points in the first half, the rest of her team had just 14 points. By the time the final buzzer went off, Wings players other than Bueckers went a combined 16 for 48 from the floor (33.3%) and 0 of 12 from 3-point range.
One of the roughest performances came from Ogunbowale, whose early-season struggles continued. She missed all seven of her first-half shot attempts in the first half. She ended up going just 2 of 10 for the night while turning the ball over four times, finishing a team-worst minus-15 and eventually fouling out.
JJ Quinerly might deserve more minutes
When Bueckers got some rest late in the third quarter and Quinerly checked in, the Wings still had a real chance at coming back as they were only down by 10. The former West Virginia standout came off the bench with a lot of energy and gave Dallas a bit of a spark.
She missed her first field goal attempt, but soon after she got a steal and scored twice in the span of 30 seconds. Quinerly finished the day with four points with an assist and a steal in just six minutes.
The rookie has previously shown flashes, including the June 6 game against the Sparks when she posted 14 points and four assists in 16 minutes. With the team struggling so badly, perhaps Quinerly should be in line for an increase in playing time — even alongside Bueckers.
This news was originally published on this post .
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