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Paige Bueckers made his WNBA debut on Friday.
The former star of Uconn Huskies collected 10 out of 3 out of 10 points on the field with seven rebounds and two assists against Minnesota Lynx. However, Dallas’ Wings failed in their first game of the season, 99-84.
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Dallas Wings Guardian, Paige Bueckers (5), talks with head coach Chris Koclanes, on the right, in the first half of a WNBA basketball match against Minnesota Lynx, Friday May 16, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP photo / Richard W. Rodriguez)
Bueckers suggested that she had a sigh of relief once her first career match is over.
“The first is always the most difficult, generally,” said Bueckers. “Not to say that it will not become more difficult, but that it could only have a starting point and continue to build this. And then there are no more questions about what it will be for your first WNBA game. Now, you have to go to the past.”
Wings head coach Chris Koclanes spoke brilliantly about Bueckers and said the recruit had managed the media threshing and the pressure that would come with his first season in W.
“She was fantastic. She is special in the way she is able to manage things with such grace,” said Koclanes. “As a team, as really preaching, a lot of attention to evolve our mental game and to deal with everything else, all the external expectations, the outside noise and really try to expose them and give them all kinds of different ways to remain present.
Dallas Wings Guardian, Paige Bueckers, warmed up before a WNBA basketball match against Minnesota Lynx, Friday May 16, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP photo / Richard Rodriguez)
Caitlin Clark talks about the importance of beating rivals before the match with Angel Reese
“Credit in Paige, she arrives individually with an incredible quantity of personal attention on this subject and already lives in this way,” said Koclanes. “It corresponded well to our style and what we are trying to create with the type of person she is already.”
Arike Ogunbowale had 16 points to lead the wings. The newcomer Dijonai Carrington collected 15 points during his beginnings in Dallas.
Napheesa Collier had 34 points to lead the lynx. Courtney Williams collected 25 points and nine assists.
The Lynx goalkeeper of Minnesota Courtney Williams (10) passes the ball in front of the wings guardian of Dallas Arike Ogunbowale (24 years old) in the second half of a basketball match of the WNBA on Friday May 16, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP photo / Richard W. Rodriguez)
The lynx lost in the WNBA final last season at the New York Liberty. They finished the year 30-10.
