Paige Bueckers falls just short of extending historic WNBA start

Dallas Wings rookie guard Paige Bueckers had one of the greatest starts in WNBA history, scoring in double-digits in each of her first 30 games. That’s the fourth-longest stretch in WNBA history behind only Cynthia Cooper (92 games), A’ja Wilson (37), and Candace Parker (32). It was also the longest active streak in the WNBA among any player.

That streak came to an end on Sunday afternoon against the Golden State Valkyries, a 90-81 loss for the Wings. Bueckers scored 9 points on 3/12 shooting, but she also had 9 assists. It’s unfortunate that her streak came to an end, but she’ll be more upset about losing for the fifth straight game, and the 10th time in the last 11 games.

READ MORE: Dallas Wings losing streak continues after falling to Golden State Valkyries

In the loss, the Wings were led by Maddy Siegrist with 16 points, followed by Myisha Hines-Allen (15), Haley Jones (15), recently signed Amy Okonkwo (12), and Grace Berger (11). That all-around scoring effort was not enough to overcome 25 points from Veronica Burton on the Valkyries.

Although Bueckers’ scoring streak came to an end, the Valkyries made a concerted effort to make sure she couldn’t score the ball. There was a picture going viral of three Valkyrie defenders guarding Bueckers on the perimeter.

Bueckers did have a 44-point game against the Los Angeles Sparks a few games ago, and if teams weren’t already aware of what she could do, that game was a wake-up call for the rest of the league.

The Dallas Wings announced three serious injuries this week that will keep players out indefinitely: Li Yueru (ACL sprain), JJ Quinerly (ACL sprain), and Arike Ogunbowale (knee tendinitis). Yueru and Quinerly will be out for the rest of the season, and with the playoffs completely out of reach, it wouldn’t be surprising if she’s held out for the remainder of the season, too.

Amy Okonkwo was signed to a 7-day hardship contract to help fill some of those injury spots, and she came off the bench to score 12 points in just her second WNBA game ever while hitting a couple of threes. It wouldn’t be surprising to see her receive another contract before they sign someone else.

READ MORE: Dallas Wings suffer season-ending injury, so what happens now?

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