WNBA: Early takeaways from the first weekend of preseason action

We’re still in the early days of the WNBA preseason, with three completed games. But even though these matchups don’t count, things happened that mattered.

Here are three takeaways from the Las Vegas Aces’ win over the Dallas Wings, the Chicago Sky’s victory over the Brazilian national team and the Indiana Fever’s overtime escape against the Washington Mystics:

Paige Bueckers loading

Paige Bueckers got her first WNBA preseason minutes as the Wings played the Aces on Friday at Notre Dame. Las Vegas showed us why they are a couple of tiers ahead of Dallas, beating them 112-78.

Bueckers played well during her 22 minutes, scoring 10 points. Overall, it was an above-average debut for the WNBA rookie. The size and physicality seemed to bother her a bit as she struggled to get separation and had to convert on some tough baskets.

But Bueckers has nothing to be concerned about. This is part of the process of learning how to adjust from college to the pros.

Angel Reese is (still) a problem

There isn’t much one can learn from the Sky steamrolling Brazil 82-69 in their first preseason game—besides the fact that Angel Reese is still good at basketball.

Reese was a monster, playing once again inside Pete Maravich Assembly Center on the campus of LSU. She recorded a 15-point and 10-rebound double-double in just 17 minutes of play.

Reese looked like she was in midseason form and ready to take a sophomore jump. Perhaps her time with Unrivaled has helped keep her in game fine-tuned and has her prepared for a strong start to the WNBA season.

No Caitlin Clark… for now

While we’ve already gotten Bueckers’ debut and Reese’s return, we have to wait at least another game for Clark to enter the arena.

The phenom missed the Fever’s first preseason game due to a left leg injury. It was a game-time decision, so the injury doesn’t appear to be very serious. With the Fever having back-to-back preseason games, it is expected that she will play on Sunday when Indiana plays at Iowa against Brazil. Before the Fever’s game against the Mystics, Clark discussed her injury and the tightness she felt in her left leg.

The Fever still won without Clark, defeating the Mystics 79-74 in overtime. Plenty of Indiana players shined. Sophie Cunningham played 34 minutes off the bench and scored 21 points. Lexie Hull was also productive off the bench, scoring 13 points, and Natasha Howard had a solid 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Mystics relied on Brittney Sykes, Stefanie Dolson and Sonia Citron, but it wasn’t enough as they struggled to score in overtime.

While this was a preseason game, there was a high level of intensity, which peaked when Washington rookie Kiki Iriafen got tangled up with Cunningham midway through the second quarter.

These games were entertaining, but the preseason fun isn’t over. The week ahead will give us more WNBA action, and as a reminder, all games are free to stream on WNBA League Pass.