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The Dallas Wings failed to snap their losing skid on Friday in a road rematch against the Atlanta Dream, dropping the evening tilt 100-78 behind a banged-up roster, which included rookie guard Page Bueckers’ late addition to the starting lineup.
Drawing inspiration from Steph Curry, Bueckers did her best to carry the Wings on her back by finishing the game with 16 points and 10 assists, adding another double-double to her laundry list of impressive feats from an individual standpoint as she chases the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year Award at season’s end.
Speaking to reporters, Bueckers said it was her teammates who made her night relatively painless while dealing with a nagging illness.
“Team just being heavy in the paint, heavy, like, congesting on my ball-screens, so being able to play out of an advantage and my teammates being aggressive once I get the ball out of my hands and playing to those advantages,” Bueckers said.
Maddy Siegrist was able to balance out Bueckers, especially after previously crediting the UConn legend for the way she has carried herself since entering the league as the No. 1 overall pick.
“I think what Paige is doing, if she were an eighth-year player, would be amazing,” Siegrist said earlier this week. “To come in right off the college season and be able to do this is just so impressive. It just speaks volumes to the type of player (and) type of person she is. She really makes people around her better.”
Bueckers returned the favor Friday night, as Siegrist’s 23 points kept the Wings’ pulse alive before things began to fall apart midway through the second half.
“Maddy, of course, just being aggressive on both sides of the floor,” Bueckers said Friday. “Getting out in transition, playing to post-ups, playing just one-on-one basketball and scoring… matchup nightmare. She’s a bucket… We need that aggression from her and that’s what she does every single night.”
Bueckers returns home to Minnesota on Monday night to play the Lynx, as the in-game atmosphere will likely be felt, with Bueckers’ home state well-represented, likely featuring a small subset of Wings fans sprinkled in.
Nevertheless, Bueckers may not be at 100 percent, but she certainly is continuing to prove her level of being Dallas’s main anchor piece is obvious as she gets closer to entering her first WNBA offseason.
READ MORE: Paige Bueckers leads WNBA response after Minneapolis church shooting
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