This year has been weird for the Dallas Nation, right? From watching Luka Doncic – basically the city’s basketball heartbeat – pack up and leave, to putting all their hope into a fresh-faced W rookie, Paige Bueckers, it’s been one emotional rollercoaster after another. Then came the 0-4 start to the WNBA season. Bueckers started her pro career by matching the number of losses she had in total last season at UConn. But Paige’s homecoming proved to be the charm, and Dallas finally saw a glimpse of the light at the end of this shaky tunnel.
Mohegan Sun Arena might be home to the Connecticut Sun, but that building belongs to Bueckers. The former UConn queen dished out assists like candy on Halloween to open the game and then lit the place up herself. By the time the buzzer rang, she’d dropped a season-high 21 points, steering the Wings to their first win of the season with a fiery 109-87 victory over the still-winless Sun.
“I don’t think I ever lost here. I was trying to carry that into tonight,” Bueckers said after the game. The Wings snapped a soul-crushing 13-game losing streak that dated back to last season. The 109-point explosion was the most by any WNBA team this year and just eight shy of a franchise record. You could practically hear Dallas fans exhale in unison. But it wasn’t all Bueckers.
Head coach Chris Koclanes said it best, “I just thought everybody contributed and that’s what we’re after. You know a balance of where everyone’s hunting offense and making simple plays and I thought you saw some of that today.” Arike Ogunbowale was in flamethrower mode in the third – dropping 19 points and casually draining deep threes on three straight possessions. DiJonai Carrington, making her own return to Connecticut after four years with the Sun, added a fierce 16 off the bench. Maddy Siegrist pitched in with 12 points and 3 rebounds too.
May 19, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) and guard DiJonai Carrington (21) run back up the court during the second half against the Seattle Storm at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Rookie Aziaha James also came in and made noise. Her very first WNBA bucket sparked an 11-0 Dallas run in the second quarter. The Wings shot a 56% from the field and turned 16 Sun turnovers into 19 points. By halftime, they’d already posted a season-high 56. The message was clear: we’re done with the losing streak.
But the feeling in the locker room wasn’t pure celebration, it was more like… relief.
“More than anything I just felt a sigh of relief for them like it’s just it’s frustrating right and we’re doing lots of good things and we couldn’t get over the hump so now we can put that behind us and continue to to focus on on the big picture of what we’re trying to do,” the coach said. Both teams had come in 0-4, but it was Dallas who broke the curse. Now, it’s back to the grind.
“There’s definitely stuff we need to improve and clean up on,” Paige admitted in the postgame conference, while also giving a nod to how great it felt seeing the squad play together. Koclanes echoed that, saying, “We have lots of tools and lots of versatility and it might not look the same every night so I’m just continuing to preach that encourage everyone to be ready. The more we can buy into that and you know not my night your night your night our night ultimately um the more success we’re going to have.”
Some early struggles were pretty much expected from this team. This is a squad that went through a full-on transformation. New coach, nearly a whole new roster. Only three players – Arike, Maddy, and Teaira McCowan – were around last season. Everyone else, including the head coach, is brand new. So chemistry issues were apparent but not shocking in the first few games.
In the first game against the Lynx, they turned it over six times in the fourth quarter alone, mostly thanks to misfired passes. Everyone accepted that it’s going to take time to click. Now, it looks like they’re starting to get there. Those 26 assists on 37 made shots (vs. Sun) screamed chemistry. They looked like a team. They played like one. With both Bueckers and the coach already talking about tightening up the gaps, this could be the start of something real.
For now, let Paige enjoy her slice of history.
Paige Bueckers hits WNBA milestones in breakout win over Connecticut
Tuesday night felt like a personal highlight reel for Paige Bueckers and a historic one at that. In just her fifth WNBA game, the Dallas Wings rookie made history. Dropping a career-high 21 points in the Wings’ win, Bueckers checked off several firsts, proving that her transition from NCAA stardom to the pros is more than smooth.
With 21-point outing, Bueckers became the first player in WNBA history to notch at least 60 points and 30 assists through the first five games of a career. No other player has touched that combination before. Her totals now stand at 73 points and 32 assists, making her start unprecedented. And if you thought that was the only stat line worth noting, think again. She’s also the first rookie since Temeka Johnson in 2005 to log a 20-5-5 line while shooting 80% or better from the field.
The basketball gods clearly love good timing, because Johnson was inducted into the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame that same night. It’s as if the past and future of the league intersected in poetic symmetry. For Bueckers, every game so far has felt like a chapter in a story she’s writing in bold ink. In her debut on May 16, she started off steady with 10 points and seven rebounds. Just three days later, she nearly had a double-double, racking up 19 points, eight assists, and six rebounds against the Seattle Storm.
May 16, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts against the Minnesota Lynx during the first half at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
But she didn’t wait long to hit that mark officially. In her third game, Bueckers posted 12 points and 10 assists, becoming one of only three rookies in league history to record a double-double with assists in one of their first three appearances. Already, she’s showing poise, vision, and scoring finesse. Up next, Bueckers and the Wings face off against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky. Can Paige Bueckers extend the streak and help Dallas climb even higher?
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