WNBA: No 1 pick Paige Bueckers scores career-high 35 on return from injury
Satou Sabally had 20 points and nine rebounds, Alyssa Thomas added a double-double in her return and Phoenix Mercury weathered a career game from Paige Bueckers to beat the Dallas Wings 93-80 on Wednesday.
Rookie star Bueckers set season highs with 35 points and five three-pointers after missing the previous four games, three while in the concussion protocol and another because of illness. She added six rebounds and four assists.
The No 1 pick in this year's draft, Bueckers had 22 points in the first half – her previous career high was 21. Her teammates had just 14 points total at the break. She finished 13 of 19 from the field and 5 of 7 from three-point range. Thomas had 11 points and 10 assists in 24 minutes after missing the previous five games with a left calf injury.
Despite her scoring feats, Bueckers said she could have played better.
'I mean I was coming back from a break and I feel like I could have used my voice more, been more disruptive, crashed the glass more,' she said. 'So as I get my wind under me, I'll be better in those areas. But like I said, just trying to contribute in other areas and whatever that looks like on any given night and will try to put my full effort toward that.'
The Mercury led 67-55 on Sabally's three-pointer with 23 seconds left in the third quarter and gradually pulled away. The Wings were never closer than eight points in the final eight minutes. Sabally played her first five seasons in Dallas before being traded to the Mercury in the offseason, and the teams had words and remained on the floor for several minutes after the game ended.
The Wings averaged 85.3 points a game when Bueckers played in the first six and 76.0 points when she was out. Wings leading scorer Arike Ogunbowale missed her first seven field-goal attempts and finished with 10 points on 2-of-10 shooting. She was averaging 16.3 points per game and had 26 points in an 81-65 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday.
The Mercury are 3-2 in Commissioner's Cup play and the Wings are 0-4.
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