You couldn’t write it better than this. Rookie guard Paige Bueckers took the WNBA stage on Wednesday night and wasted no time showing everyone she belongs.
In front of a full Crypto.com Arena and in a matchup with superstar Kelsey Plum, Bueckers scored 8 of Dallas’s first 11 points – yes 8 – sparking a 9-0 run in under two minutes. This is how you announce yourself.
Early Numbers, Big Impact
By the end of the first quarter, Bueckers had:
8 points
2 boards
1 dime
and in only eight minutes of play. Efficiency much?
And that sweet turnaround jumper over Plum? Straight ice cold. That one is already circulating on highlight videos.
Sparks Fight Back
The Sparks are not going to be embarrassed at home, however. Cameron Brink brought an instant edge off the bench, and L.A. found their stroke from deep. By the end of the half, the Sparks flipped the entire game on them and went into halftime with a 44-37 lead.
What That All Means
-Bueckers is not just a rookie – she is a problem. The confidence, the poise, the buckets? The Dallas Wings have a new centerpiece.
-Plum vs. Bueckers is must-see TV. A veteran scorer and a rising phenom – you love to see it.
Dallas has to find a level of consistency. An explosive start is great, but allowing L.A. to flip the momentum shows this team can – and will – have growing pains.
The bottom line is Paige Bueckers just made her WNBA plans crystal clear – she isn’t tip-toeing into this league, she is busting the door down.
The featured image above is attributed to “John Mac, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons”. No changes were made thereto.