In a battle featuring the top two picks from April’s WNBA draft, Paige Bueckers got the best of Dominique Malonga in the box score.
But Malonga’s Storm picked up the win Monday night as Seattle overcame a strong effort from Bueckers for a 76-71 win over the Dallas Wings. Victor Wembanyama and Dirk Nowitizki were in the building to watch the rising young WNBA stars.
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Bueckers finished with 19 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals in her second-ever WNBA game, besting a 10-point, seven-rebound effort in her WNBA debut on Friday. She shot 7 of 14 from the field and 1 of 2 from 3 and led the Wings in points, assists, steals and minutes played.
Malonga played just one minute and finished with two points. The 19-year-old out of France is the youngest player in the WNBA and on a track to develop off the Seattle bench.
Paige Bueckers produced a strong effort in her second WNBA game, but it didn’t result in a Dallas win. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
(Ron Jenkins via Getty Images)
But Bueckers, 23, is full speed ahead after a four-season college career at UConn that featured a national championship, three All-America selections and National Player of the Year honors. And she made some significant steps on Monday from her league debut last week.
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Seattle blitzed Bueckers early with double-teams, with one of them resulting in a turnover and a quick trip to the bench. But Bueckers returned before the first quarter was over, confident and on target.
She hit three of her first four shots, including a catch-and shoot jumper from the block on an inbounds play.
Later in the quarter, Bueckers hit a pull-up 3 off a screen to give the Wings a 26-25 lead as Dallas closed the quarter on a 15-7 run. Bueckers scored seven of Dallas’ 15 points during the run.
Bueckers also showed off per passing prowess en route to her eight assists, including threading the needle in traffic to set up DiJonai Carrington for a wide-open layup in the game’s opening minutes.
In the second quarter, Bueckers hit NaLyssa Smith with a 3/4-court pass for a layup in transition.
But Bueckers’ night couldn’t overcome a scorching effort from long distance by the Storm. Seattle shot 9-of-15 (60%) from 3-point distance and rode a 16-point edge in the second quarter to a 56-41 halftime lead.
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Dallas rallied to cut the lead to 66-63 early in the fourth quarter. But turnovers thwarted the Dallas rally as Seattle held on for the win. The Dallas offense went cold late in an eight-point fourth quarter.
The Storm forced 14 Wings turnovers for the game, while committing 1 of their own. Former MVP Nneka Ogwumike led the Storm with a game-high 23 points and 19 rebounds. Skylar Diggins added 21 points and nine assists as Seattle evened its record at 1-1. The loss dropped Dallas to 0-2.
Bueckers and the Wings will face their next chance to get into the win column on Wednesday on the road against the Minnesota Lynx, a tough test against one of the favorites to compete for the WNBA title this season.
