‘unreal’ Paige Bueckers Sets Wnba Rookie Scoring Record With 44 Points In Wings Loss

Paige Bueckers put together not conscionable 1 of nan champion shooting performances by a WNBA rookie, but 1 of nan champion performances ever by immoderate player.

The apical prime successful this year’s draft scored 44 points successful nan Dallas Wings’ 81-80 nonaccomplishment to nan Los Angeles Sparks connected Wednesday night, nan astir points by a rookie successful WNBA history and nan astir points successful a crippled by immoderate subordinate this season.

Bueckers sank 17 of 21 shots, including 4 of 4 from three-point scope and 6 of 6 astatine nan free-throw statement to go nan first subordinate successful convention history pinch 40-plus points connected 80% shooting from nan floor. She besides had 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

The WNBA first-year subordinate grounds of 44 was group by Cynthia Cooper successful nan inaugural play of nan WNBA (1997), erstwhile each players were ‘first year.’ The existent rookie grounds was held by Candace Parker who scored 40 points successful 2008. The wide WNBA record for points successful a crippled is 53, a full achieved by Liz Cambage and A’ja Wilson. Bueckers’s 44 points puts her astatine No 10 connected nan all-time list.

But it was a bittersweet capacity for Bueckers, whose superior attraction is connected winning.

“I’ve ever prided myself and nan squad connected winning truthful that’s evidently nan main goal,” she said. “Honestly, I deliberation I’m conscionable astir proud of this team, like, nan measurement we fight. This squad conscionable intends truthful overmuch to me.”

Bueckers, who scored Dallas’ last 13 points, credited her teammates.

“Just my teammates getting maine open. Screening for me, moving immoderate off-ball actions, trying to get myself unfastened looks,” she said. ”Just bringing nan shot up nan floor. [Luisa Geiselsoder] group astonishing screens for maine nan full nighttime and past my teammates conscionable looking for me, getting maine nan ball, getting maine open.”

Bueckers’ teammate Arike Ogunbowale, who did not play connected Wednesday night, posted “ROY” [Rookie of nan Year] connected X.

Bueckers is 60 points awkward of Ogunbowale’s franchise rookie scoring grounds of 630 points, group successful 2019.

“Unreal. honored to play pinch you,” teammate Maddy Siegrist posted connected X.

Even nan Sparks fans realized they were witnessing thing special, cheering each Bueckers handbasket arsenic she approached nan record.

“It intends a batch specifically because group person gotten to spot nan struggle and group person gotten to spot nan injuries, and nan ups and downs,” said Bueckers, who struggled pinch injuries astatine UConn.

Bueckers had a chance to seal nan crippled pinch nan shot successful her hands pinch 30 seconds near connected nan timepiece and a one-point lead. The rookie defender drew 2 defenders adjacent nan three-point arc and unselfishly passed it to nan area for Aziaha James, whose three-point effort deed disconnected nan backmost of nan rim. Los Angeles sewage nan shot to their seasoned defender Kelsey Plum, who dribbled down nan timepiece earlier driving into nan lane past aggregate defenders to slope successful a runner astatine nan buzzer.