Paige Bueckers Continues Historic Rookie Season as Dallas Wings Prepare for Rematch with Los Angeles Sparks
LOS ANGELES – Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers is poised to add to her already notable resume as the team travels to face the Los Angeles Sparks on September 7th at 5 PM. Bueckers, coming off a record-breaking August, leads all rookies in scoring and assists and is on track to shatter multiple Wings franchise records. Despite recent injuries to key players, the Wings are looking to narrow the all-time series gap against the Sparks, who currently lead 50-32.
Bueckers’ recent performance has cemented her place among WNBA greats. She became the Wings’ all-time rookie scoring leader on August 29th, surpassing Arike Ogunbowale’s previous record of 630 points with a current total of 650 career points.This also places her fourth in WNBA history for most points by a rookie, trailing only A’ja wilson (682 points). Bueckers currently boasts a scoring average of 19.118, ranking sixth among all-time WNBA rookies, and leads the franchise in rookie assists with 180 and counting – fourth most in WNBA history.
The Wings have faced the Sparks twice already this season, falling in both contests: 79-93 on June 6th and 96-97 on August 15th, and 80-81 on August 20th.
Currently, the wings are without Luisa Geiselsöder (Right Shoulder), Ty Harris (Left Knee), Arike Ogunbowale (Right Knee), JJ Quinerly (left Knee), and Li Yueru (Left Knee).
Adding a spark to the Wings’ roster, Amy Okonkwo was recently signed to a rest-of-season contract. In six games, she is averaging 9.8 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 48% from the field, ranking third among undrafted first-year players in scoring average and fifth among all active undrafted players.Bueckers was recently named WNBA Rookie of the Month for the third consecutive month, becoming the 10th player in WNBA history and the first in Wings franchise history to achieve this distinction. In August, she averaged 20.3 points and 5.0 assists, shooting 49.7% from the field and 93.6% from the free-throw line, highlighted by a record-setting 44-point performance against the Sparks on August 20th.
