Dallas has finally something to cheer about. The city was expecting their No.1 draft pick, Paige Bueckers, to hit the ground running. But the moment she finally made the stage of the WNBA her own had not arrived. Reeling with a 1-11 record, including a 7-game losing streak while arriving at this game against the Golden State Valkyries, the future looked glum.
As it usually is, these things can change in a matter of moments, and the fans will hope that Paige Bueckers and Co. have broken the ice for this season after a statement win over an in-form Valkyries team. The rookie led the way with 20 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals on the night, rounding out another complete performance in their first home win of the season. After the game, the rookie has shown her elite mentality as she called out her squad to not take their foot off the gas.
She said after the game, “It meant a lot to get one here. But it also means we want to keep building off of this. We don’t want to get complacent with our second win of the season – keep progressing. And if we continue to do that, great things will happen.”
“It meant a lot to get one here. We want to keep building off of this – we don’t want to be complacent with our second win of the season – keep progressing…great things will happen.”
Paige Bueckers #wnba #WNBATwitter pic.twitter.com/GxVrM01jaJ
— Dorothy J. Gentry (@DorothyJGentry) June 18, 2025
Bueckers was not used to losing before joining the WNBA. She lost a total of 3 games throughout her last season with UConn under Geno Aurriemme, who was in attendance to watch his star pupil. But she knew what was to follow in the WNBA with a new team dynamic at the Dallas Wings, where they have hedged their bets on her to be the face of the franchise. It has not been easy; she has given her 100%, and it still hasn’t been enough.
The Wings had made it a habit to throw away situations that were in their favour. With this fairly comfortable 80-71 win over a respectable opponent like the Valkyries, they are hopefully improving on that bad habit. Their record went from 1-11 to 2-11, still a long way from a bottom-feeder to a genuine contender. While it can’t happen within a season, the ultimate goal remains to bring home glory. The path to improvement is to learn from previous mistakes, and Paige Bueckers expressed what they changed from their previous meltdown against the Las Vegas Aces.
She said, “In the last close game, I think we had four fouls with like six minutes to go, and we did a good job of keeping them out of the bonus and limiting their foul attempts. Um, I still think we can do a better job rebounding, and that’s that’s me, that’s everybody, just game rebounding, um, and making it tough for them to get offensive boards and second possessions.”
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
For the last three and a half minutes against the Aces, Dallas failed to score, and Las Vegas scored 15 straight points to regain the lead. Out of those 15, the A’ja Wilson-less side scored 10 straight points from the foul line, using four turnovers and four offensive rebounds to set up the free throws. This cost the Wings dearly, and they visibly improved upon it today. While they gave away two fouls in the final five minutes, Bueckers was determined not to repeat the same mistakes as she stole the ball twice. Di Jonai Carringoton and Arike Ogunbowale were also on their toes as they had a steal each in the final moments of the game to prevent any comeback from the visitors.
The team actually outbounded the Valkyries 39 to 28 in this game, and this is an area they are excelling in throughout the season. The Wings stand fifth best in the league while getting rebounds at 35.9 per game. Valkyries have an even better record with 36.2 per game, and the fact that they limited them to just 28 is a success on the Wings’ part. Bueckers’ words show the standards that she has and expectations for her team to be playing at their full potential.
New Signees Make Immediate Impact For Dallas
The last few days for the Wings roster have been a whirlwind. First, they lost centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsoder to national team obligations. Tyasha Harris and Maddy Siegrist are both out with knee injuries. The team had waived Kaila Charles to acquire center Li Yueru from the Storm, but they resigned her and Haley Jones to hardship contracts because the team only had eight available players.
After all the reshuffling of players leading up to this game, it worked out in the end. All three signings had key contributions in this win. Well, Charles had already played 11 games before for the Wings this season, but to come back to the same team that initially waived her showed great professionalism on her part as she went about her business on the court.
Charles scored 10 points while giving 4 assists and getting 4 steals along with 5 rebounds in her 24 minutes on the court. While Li Yeuru played her first game in a Wings shirt, playing for 13 minutes, scoring 2 points while going 1-3 from the field. Yeuru also gave 2 assists and grabbed 2 rebounds in her limited time on the court. Haley Jones did not play in this game and remained an unused substitute.
Coach Chris Koclanes applauded Charles for her key contribution as he said, “Just an incredible response to be able to you know live through the last 72 hours that she did and to be able to come out here and still have the impact that she had. That’s she’s the ultimate pro right for to be able to show up and do that.”
The Wings finally got some all-around display and proper teamwork with contributions from the bench. It had been either Paige Bueckers or Arike giving the heavy contribution without any support, but that seems to have changed. The Wings want more. Once they have tasted this sweet victory feeling, the craving will only increase. They have their coach and premier player demanding more from them day by day, and the hope is that this win can spark a streak for the Dallas Wings as they face the Connecticut Sun next.
The post Paige Bueckers Issues No-Nonsense Locker Room Message After Snapping Wings’ 0-7 Skid appeared first on EssentiallySports.
