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Four-time All-Star Los Angeles Sparks point guard Kelsey Plum saved the day for L.A. late, banging inside to secure a backboard floater at the buzzer and net an 81-80 Sparks victory over the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night.
“Just a heck of a finish by her,” first-year Los Angeles head coach Lynne Roberts said postgame, per Ira Gowara of The Los Angeles Times.
Plum finished with 20 points on 9-of-23 shooting from the floor, four rebounds, one assist and a steal. It marked her fifth straight 20-plus-point outing. Across 34 games this year, the 5-foot-8 Washington product is averaging 20.4 points on .430/.361/.888 shooting splits, 5.9 assists and 3.3 boards a night.
More news: Wings’ Paige Bueckers Breaks WNBA Record Against Kelsey Plum’s Sparks
Plum’s salvage job was made all the more remarkable because it came at the expense of a career night from Rookie of the Year favorite Paige Bueckers. The 6-foot guard out of the University of Connecticut scored a whopping 44 points on 17-of-21 field goal shooting (including 4-of-4 from deep), grabbed four boards and dished out three dimes.
PAIGE BUECKERS TONIGHT 🔥
• 44 POINTS • 4 REBOUNDS • 3 ASSISTS • 4/4 3PM• 17/21 FG• 36 MINUTES PLAYEDpic.twitter.com/DGO17QLZ9t
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) August 21, 2025
With Washington Wizards All-Stars Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen lurking, Bueckers needed big nights like Wednesday’s to secure her stranglehold on the award, during an otherwise doomed season for the 9-27 Wings, who have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
The No. 9-seeded Sparks, meanwhile, improved to a 17-18 record on the year, and are just 0.5 games behind the Seattle Storm for the league’s eighth and final playoff slot with nine regular season contests remaining.
Read more: Sparks’ Kelsey Plum, Rickea Jackson Break Records in Win Over Sun
Per Alexa Philippou of ESPN, Bueckers’ 44 points on Wednesday represent not just the most points scored by any WNBA player this year, but also the most points netted by a rookie in league history. It also represents the first 40-plus-point contest in the WNBA to ever be achieved on 80 percent field goal shooting or better.
Paige Bueckers’ 44 points tonight vs. the Sparks are:
-the most points in a game by a rookie in WNBA history-the most points in a game by any player this season-the first 40-piece in league history on 80% FG
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) August 21, 2025
Philippou does concede that Cynthia Cooper notched 44 points during the WNBA’s debut season, 1997 — but since everyone was a rookie that year, the league does not count it as a rookie record. That feels a bit unfair to Cooper’s achievement, but either way, Bueckers at the very least has co-ownership of the record.
“I feel like that’s what basketball is all about — putting on a show for [fans],” second-year Sparks forward Rickea Jackson said of the nailbiter, per Gowara. “Both teams truly did that and everyone enjoyed themselves and got their money’s worth tonight.”
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