Latest news with #PaigeBueckersDay
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Paige Bueckers scores first bucket of Wings season in 99-84 loss to Lynx
Paige Bueckers didn't waste time putting her first professional points on the board. The No. 1 overall draft pick put back her own miss less than one minute into her WNBA debut, beginning her rookie season by scoring the first points of the game. She finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of a 99-84 loss to Minnesota on Friday night. Welcome to the W, Paige!Her first bucket is officially in the books 🔥 — Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 16, 2025 The Wings kept even with the Finals runner-up, 46-46, at halftime. The Lynx offense erupted out of the break to squash any hope of a win in Dallas. Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams combined for 33 of the Lynx' 35 third-quarter points to roll to a win despite being without two starters. Collier, an early MVP contender after a career season, led all scorers with 34 points. Williams scored 24 shooting 10-of-15 with nine assists. Jessica Shepard scored 15 and Diamond Miller added 13 off the bench. Bueckers started strong with the early bucket, another jumper in the second, a pretty baseline jumper in the third and four free throws in aggressive takes to the rim. Her efficiency faded as the game wore on and the Lynx found a semblance of its stout defense. She was 3-of-10, going 0-of-4 in the second half. She held her own switching onto forward and MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier in a Husky-on-Husky highlight. The 6-foot point guard played at forward during her third season in UConn and brings versatility to the pros. Arike Ogunbowale led all Wings scorers with 16 points. Rather than rely on Ogunbowale as a high-volume shooter, the offense spread out between her, DiJonai Carrington, Bueckers and Maddy Siegrist. The debut was a full-circle moment after an injury-riddled four-year career at UConn that culminated with a NCAA title last month. Bueckers grew up attending Lynx games as a local Hopkins, Minnesota, native. Her dad, Bob Bueckers, called the matchup "surreal" in an emotional in-game broadcast interview. Her hometown city council declared Friday "Paige Bueckers Day" and re-named the town in her honor for one day. Her arrival is the beginning of a new era in Dallas, where first-year head coach Chris Koclanes made his debut. The franchise made it past the first round of the playoffs once since their move to Dallas in 2016. They were previously the Tulsa Shock and won three titles as the Detroit Shock. As they were in Bueckers' childhood, the Lynx are one of the league's best. General managers picked Minnesota as the favorite to win it after losing the WNBA Finals to New York in overtime of the winner-take-all Game 5. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve kept it simple at the first quarter break when asked on air what her team had to do better defensively. "We've got to play better defense. Thanks," Reeve said, walking away from the interview. Napheesa Collier, the 2024 MVP runner-up, echoed the sentiment at halftime tied 46-46. "Our defense looks pretty bad," Collier said. "If we want to win, we have to change that in the second half." The Lynx were one of the league's defenses last year (75.6 ppg allowed), but couldn't tap into it on opening night. Their defense improved in the third, rushing the young Wings team, but it was the offense that pushed them into a 15-point lead. The Wings never came closer than 11 in the final 13 minutes. Collier scored 18 shooting 70% and Williams hit all five of her shot attempts, including two from 3-point range, for 15 points. Jessica Shepard scored a basket as the only other Lynx in the stat sheet in the third. The Lynx were without two regular starters from their Finals appearance. Guard Kayla McBride did not play in the preseason while Reeve gives her rest between seasons. McBride played in Unrivaled, the 3x3 league founded by Collier and Breanna Stewart, before returning to Turkish club Fenerbahce. Forward Alanna Smith did not play with a quad injury and was missed on the boards.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Paige Bueckers scores first bucket of Wings season in 99-84 loss to Lynx
Paige Bueckers didn't waste time putting her first professional points on the board. The No. 1 overall draft pick put back her own miss less than one minute into her WNBA debut, beginning her rookie season by scoring the first points of the game. She finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of a 99-84 loss to Minnesota on Friday night. The Wings kept even with the Finals runner-up until the third quarter of a 46-46 game. Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams combined for 33 of the Lynx' 35 third-quarter points to roll to a win despite being without two starters. Advertisement Collier, an early MVP contender after a career season, led all scorers with 34 points. Williams scored 24 shooting 10-of-15 with nine assists. Jessica Shepard scored 15 and Diamond Miller added 13 off the bench. Bueckers starts strong Bueckers started strong with the early bucket, another jumper in the second, a pretty baseline jumper in the third and four free throws in aggressive takes to the rim. Her efficiency faded as the game wore on and the Lynx found a semblance of its stout defense. She was 3-of-10, going 0-of-4 in the second half. She held her own switching onto forward and MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier in a Husky-on-Husky highlight. The 6-foot point guard played at forward during her third season in UConn and brings versatility to the pros. Advertisement Arike Ogunbowale led all Wings scorers with 16 points. Rather than rely on Ogunbowale as a high-volume shooter, the offense spread out between her, DiJonai Carrington, Bueckers and Maddy Siegrist. The debut was a full-circle moment after an injury-riddled four-year career at UConn that culminated with a NCAA title last month. Bueckers grew up attending Lynx games as a local Hopkins, Minnesota, native. Her dad, Bob Bueckers, called the matchup "surreal" in an emotional in-game broadcast interview. Her hometown city council declared Friday "Paige Bueckers Day" and re-named the town in her honor for one day. Her arrival is the beginning of a new era in Dallas, where first-year head coach Chris Koclanes made his debut. The franchise made it past the first round of the playoffs once since their move to Dallas in 2016. They were previously the Tulsa Shock and won three titles as the Detroit Shock. As they were in Bueckers' childhood, the Lynx are one of the league's best. General managers picked Minnesota as the favorite to win it after losing the WNBA Finals to New York in overtime of the winner-take-all Game 5. Lynx defense quiet in opener Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve kept it simple at the first quarter break when asked on air what her team had to do better defensively. Advertisement "We've got to play better defense. Thanks," Reeve said, walking away from the interview. Napheesa Collier, the 2024 MVP runner-up, echoed the sentiment at halftime tied 46-46. "Our defense looks pretty bad," Collier said. "If we want to win, we have to change that in the second half." The Lynx were one of the league's defenses last year (75.6 ppg allowed), but couldn't tap into it on opening night. Their defense improved in the third, rushing the young Wings team, but it was the offense that pushed them into a 15-point lead. The Wings never came closer than 11 in the final 13 minutes. Advertisement Collier scored 18 shooting 70% and Williams hit all five of her shot attempts, including two from 3-point range, for 15 points. Jessica Shepard scored a basket as the only other Lynx in the stat sheet in the third. The Lynx were without two regular starters from their Finals appearance. Guard Kayla McBride did not play in the preseason while Reeve gives her rest between seasons. McBride played in Unrivaled, the 3x3 league founded by Collier and Breanna Stewart, before returning to Turkish club Fenerbahce. Forward Alanna Smith did not play with a quad injury and was missed on the boards.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hometown renames itself after Paige Bueckers
CONNECTICUT Conn. (WTNH) — Paige Bueckers is a UConn legend, top draft pick, and national champion. Now, her hometown is honoring her in their own way. Today is 'Paige Bueckers Day' in Hopkins, Minnesota. With the mayor and city council officially re-naming the city 'Paige Bueckers, Minnesota.' How to watch Paige Bueckers' WNBA debut, as her hometown pregames with 'Paige's 3-Point Pale' ale 'It's one thing to go pro, it's another thing to go number one in the WNBA Draft,' Paige Bueckers (Hopkins) Mayor Patrick Hanlon said. 'And so we felt like we needed to step up our game a little bit in terms of how we honor that and how we honor a person from our community making that kind of achievement.' Bueckers was the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year and National Player of the Year while in high school in Hopkins. Bueckers will make her WNBA debut with the Dallas Wings on Friday against the Minnesota Lynx. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Paige Bueckers Had a Hard Time Accepting Big News About Her
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers has had herself an eventful past couple of months. Just days before being selected with the No. 1 pick in April's WNBA Draft, Bueckers led her UConn Huskies to an NCAA Women's national championship, ending the program's nine-year title drought in the process. Advertisement Following her success on the court, Bueckers' hometown of Hopkins, Minnesota announced that May 16 would officially become "Paige Bueckers Day" to commemorate what will be the date of her WNBA debut on Friday against the Minnesota Lynx. While it's quite an honor, Bueckers revealed on Tuesday that she didn't initially believe it to be true. "I didn't believe it at first," Bueckers admitted. "I thought it was fake news. There's a lot of fake news that circles around on the internet. So, you never know what to trust. But it's also surreal and I don't know, it's crazy to me that they would name the whole city after me. But just to able to give back to that whole city whose given me so them to show love like that I appreciate it for sure." Dallas Wings guard Paige Miron-Imagn Images In addition to changing the name of the city to honor Bueckers for the day, Hopkins will also be hosting a watch party as revealed in its release. Advertisement "Whether you're a lifelong fan or new to the game, it's the perfect opportunity to support Hopkins alumna Paige Bueckers as she takes the court for the Wings," read the release. "Don't miss out on this exciting event—gather your friends and enjoy a night of basketball, great food, and community spirit!" In two preseason appearances, Bueckers averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals while shooting over 66.6% from the field and 60% from three. The Wings and the Lynx will face off on Friday at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas in a game that will tip at 7:30 p.m. ET and air on ION. Related: Angel Reese's 2-Word Reaction to Controversial Question Turns Heads
The Herald Scotland
21-04-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Paige Bueckers' hometown naming city after her for day on May 16
Her accomplishments were enough to get her hometown named after her, literally. REQUIRED READING: Paige Bueckers has arrived to save Dallas from its misery Hopkins, Minnesota, where Bueckers grew up and played high school basketball, announced it's naming the town after her on May 16, the date of her first WNBA game. The date will also be "Paige Bueckers Day" in Hopkins. "The City of Hopkins would like to honor her accomplishments and wish her the best of luck at the professional level by proclaiming May 16th as Paige Bueckers Day and renaming the city to Paige Bueckers, Minnesota for the day," the announcement stated. "We invite the community to celebrate the kickoff of the WNBA season with Think Hopkins and our local businesses on WNBA watch day, where businesses will have themed specials, air the game and celebrate the season opener - because everybody watches women's sports." Paige's hometown, Hopkins, Minnesota, is being renamed to Paige Bueckers, Minnesota on May 16th to honor her recent accomplishments ????#NCAAWBB — NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) April 19, 2025 Bueckers averaged 19.9 points with 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game this season, leading UConn to a 37-3 record and 82-59 win over reigning champion South Carolina in the national title game. She's viewed as an organization-altering player for the Wings, which finished with a 9-31 record last season. Bueckers missed the end of her sophomore season and most of her junior season after suffering a knee injury but fought back to be an All-American again in 2024 and 2025 after winning national player of the year as a freshman. The former No. 1-ranked high school recruit has met every expectation since being a high-end prospect out of Hopkins, and now her hometown is honoring her for her accomplishments.
