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Paige Bueckers scores first bucket of Wings season in 99-84 loss to Lynx

Paige Bueckers didn't waste time putting her first professional points on the board.

The No. 1 overall draft pick put back her own miss less than one minute into her WNBA debut, beginning her rookie season by scoring the first points of the game. She finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of a 99-84 loss to Minnesota on Friday night.

The Wings kept even with the Finals runner-up until the third quarter of a 46-46 game. Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams combined for 33 of the Lynx' 35 third-quarter points to roll to a win despite being without two starters.

Collier, an early MVP contender after a career season, led all scorers with 34 points. Williams scored 24 shooting 10-of-15 with nine assists. Jessica Shepard scored 15 and Diamond Miller added 13 off the bench.

Bueckers starts strong

Bueckers started strong with the early bucket, another jumper in the second, a pretty baseline jumper in the third and four free throws in aggressive takes to the rim. Her efficiency faded as the game wore on and the Lynx found a semblance of its stout defense. She was 3-of-10, going 0-of-4 in the second half.

She held her own switching onto forward and MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier in a Husky-on-Husky highlight. The 6-foot point guard played at forward during her third season in UConn and brings versatility to the pros.

Arike Ogunbowale led all Wings scorers with 16 points. Rather than rely on Ogunbowale as a high-volume shooter, the offense spread out between her, DiJonai Carrington, Bueckers and Maddy Siegrist.

The debut was a full-circle moment after an injury-riddled four-year career at UConn that culminated with a NCAA title last month. Bueckers grew up attending Lynx games as a local Hopkins, Minnesota, native. Her dad, Bob Bueckers, called the matchup "surreal" in an emotional in-game broadcast interview. Her hometown city council declared Friday "Paige Bueckers Day" and re-named the town in her honor for one day.

Her arrival is the beginning of a new era in Dallas, where first-year head coach Chris Koclanes made his debut. The franchise made it past the first round of the playoffs once since their move to Dallas in 2016. They were previously the Tulsa Shock and won three titles as the Detroit Shock.

As they were in Bueckers' childhood, the Lynx are one of the league's best. General managers picked Minnesota as the favorite to win it after losing the WNBA Finals to New York in overtime of the winner-take-all Game 5.

Lynx defense quiet in opener

Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve kept it simple at the first quarter break when asked on air what her team had to do better defensively.

"We've got to play better defense. Thanks," Reeve said, walking away from the interview.

Napheesa Collier, the 2024 MVP runner-up, echoed the sentiment at halftime tied 46-46.

"Our defense looks pretty bad," Collier said. "If we want to win, we have to change that in the second half."

The Lynx were one of the league's defenses last year (75.6 ppg allowed), but couldn't tap into it on opening night. Their defense improved in the third, rushing the young Wings team, but it was the offense that pushed them into a 15-point lead. The Wings never came closer than 11 in the final 13 minutes.

Collier scored 18 shooting 70% and Williams hit all five of her shot attempts, including two from 3-point range, for 15 points. Jessica Shepard scored a basket as the only other Lynx in the stat sheet in the third.

The Lynx were without two regular starters from their Finals appearance. Guard Kayla McBride did not play in the preseason while Reeve gives her rest between seasons. McBride played in Unrivaled, the 3x3 league founded by Collier and Breanna Stewart, before returning to Turkish club Fenerbahce. Forward Alanna Smith did not play with a quad injury and was missed on the boards.

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