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Paige Bueckers has had up-and-down performances during the early days of her rookie campaign. She’s had flashes of brilliance, like her 19-point performance in a loss against the Seattle Storm, but it hadn’t been enough to win games.
That changed on Tuesday as the Wings beat the Connecticut Sun 109-87, earning their first victory of 2025.
Bueckers had her best game so far, shooting a staggering 80 percent from the field. She led the Wings in scoring with 21 points. Arike Ogunbowale also got into a groove and scored 19 points.
There have been debates among fans about whether this backcourt can coexist and find success, but at least for one night, those debates can be laid to rest.
Liberty and Lynx are in a class by themselves
While this is a new year of WNBA basketball, no one has told the Minnesota Lynx or New York Liberty. Both 2024 WNBA finalists remain undefeated, with the Lynx winning 82-77 against the Storm and the Liberty blowing out the Golden State Valkyries 95-67.
Minnesota earned their fifth win of the season thanks to certified-bucket Courtney Williams leading the way with 23 points. The Lynx had four of starters in double figures, and Napheessa Collier ended the game with another double double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
New York showed everyone there is a big difference between a championship team and an expansion one. They never trailed and led by as many as 33 points in their victory over the Valkyries.
Breanna Stewart led the charge with 23 points, and Marine Johannès dominated off the bench with 18. Golden State just wasn’t able to match the quality or intensity of New York.
The Sky is falling
The Chicago Sky’s inability to win has been one of the biggest disappointments of this season. They lost to the Mercury 94-89—despite leading for the majority of the game.
In the fourth quarter, Phoenix started the frame on a 10-5 run to take the lead, and they never looked back. Satou Sabally stepped up for the Mercury and scored 20 points, while Kitija Laksa was huge off the bench, shooting 6-for-9 from the field and ending with 18 points in the comeback win.
The Sky were having a good game and got exactly the kind of performances they needed from their core. Ariel Atkins was an efficient 7-for-15 from the field, scoring 21 points. Kamilla Cardoso shot 50 percent from the field and scored 16 points. Angel Reese ended the game with 13 points and 15 boards, becoming the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 500 points and 500 rebounds along the way.
Hopefully, these efforts will eventually result in wins in the City of Wind.
ATL outlasts LA
The only other WNBA game on Tuesday was the Los Angeles Sparks against the Atlanta Dream. Atlanta won on the road 88-82. Los Angeles rallied in the fourth and got within one point, but was unable to complete the comeback.
Allisha Gray was sensational for the Dream, scoring 25 points. Rhyne Howard dominated as well, with 15 points and nine boards. The Sparks got 28 points from Dearica Hamby and 27 from Kelsey Plum, but not much from anyone else. Their offense struggled during the first half, suffering long scoring droughts early in the loss.
The Sparks are now 2-4 on the season, and the Dream are the polar opposite at 4-2.
