Lynx beat Wings 85-81 for 2nd time in 5 days, spoiling homecoming for Bueckers
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Napheesa Collier had 28 points and eight rebounds to lead the Minnesota Lynx to their second victory over the Dallas Wings in five days, an 85-81 decision that spoiled the homecoming for first overall draft pick Paige Bueckers on Wednesday night.
Alanna Smith and Courtney Williams each added 13 points for the Lynx (3-0), who have picked up where they left off last season in the WNBA Finals, where they lost to the New York Liberty in a tense series that went to overtime in the decisive Game 5.
Bueckers had 12 points, 10 assists and three steals. In her first three WNBA games, Bueckers is shooting 13 for 35 from the floor, including her debut at home on Friday against the Lynx.
Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings (0-3) with 21 points on 8-for-20 shooting. She went 5 for 13 from beyond the arc, tying Diana Taurasi as the fastest players in league history to 500 3-pointers in 198 career games.
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The Lynx, who won at Dallas 99-84 and at Los Angeles 89-75 to open the season, had a tougher time in their home opener and fell behind 15-5 before snapping back with a 12-0 run. They controlled most of the game, until a late cold spell let the Wings back in it.
The Lynx went nearly four minutes without a basket, until Williams swished a baseline jumper with 2:47 remaining to push their lead back to 78-73.
Ogunbowale's 3-pointer with 39 seconds left pulled the Wings within two, but Williams rebounded her own miss to keep the ensuing possession alive for Collier to get fouled and go to the line where she went 12 for 12.
Paige Bueckers returned to her roots
Wednesday marked the 23-year-old, 6-foot guard’s first professional matchup back in the state she calls home. The usual sea of Prowl gear was dotted with signs and swag touting Dallas rookie Bueckers.
Bueckers was the Wings’ first draft pick last month after winning the NCAA championship finals with UConn. She has started both of Dallas’ regular season games, playing some 34 minutes and pulling in an average of 14.5 points per game.
Prior to her career of accolades at UConn, she played for Hopkins High School. There, she led the team to the 2019 state title under head coach Barry Cosgriff, who has since retired.
Bueckers was widely regarded as the top high school player in the country, signing with the UConn Huskies in 2019.
For UConn, she holds the record for No. 1 in scoring average with 19.8 points per game and No. 3 in career points with a total of 2,439. She ended her college career on a high note — winning the NCAA Women’s basketball Championship.
“We talked about this when she was little,” Bueckers’ former coach and mentor Tara Starks said at the game Wednesday. “So knowing that she has an opportunity to come home, third game of the season, and play in front of her fans, her family, her support system, I'm excited.”
After knowing Bueckers since the pro was in elementary school, Starks says she remains most proud of her ability to remain the person she’s always been.
“Staying steady, staying who she is,” Starks said. “Always being available when we call, or, you know, reach out to her. I think that that's super impressive.”
Tricia Wanzek was another fan there to see Bueckers in action. She was decked out in a special edition Hopkins jersey from Scheels. Wanzek’s daughter went to the high school, so she first saw Bueckers years ago.
"Amazing, amazing. I was like an instant page Buecker’s fan.”
Wanzek says her skills were apparent early on.
“She has such control of the ball, and she's not selfish with the ball. She’s always passing it and giving other people the chance and, but if they were, like, if the score was getting close, she would just take control and put the shots in.”
“It's tough. That's why I didn't wear Lynx or Wings, because I’ll be rooting for both, but mostly rooting for Paige Bueckers,” Wanzek said.
Lynx return with vengeance
Minnesota is back after falling short of a record fifth championship last season. It was a cutthroat fight against the New York Liberty that left coaches and players plotting the team's triumphant return to the playoffs and another chance at championship victory.
Collier comes back to the WNBA from a busy offseason. Liberty-star Breanna Stewart and Collier started Unrivaled, a new offseason 3-on-3 league. It featured some of the most talented WNBA players of the moment including Skylar Diggins, Tiffany Hayes, Angel Reese and more. Bueckers has already signed a 3-year contract with the league.
Collier’s teammates Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride and Natisha Hiedeman all played for the league. The Lunar Owls, Collier and Williams’ team, faced the Rose in the finals, falling short of the inaugural season championship.
Fans have been surprised to see intended starter Kayla McBride has been missing from the Lynx’s lineup so far this season without an official reason announced. Another starter, Dorka Juhász, has also been out.
Even with these starters out, the Lynx came back as a well-oiled machine. Collier and Williams have been powerhouses for the first two games of the season, returning this year nearly as strong as they performed last season. Collier sank 34 points in the season opener against the Wings. Williams consistently remains an asset for assists, providing nearly 10 in both games. Teammates Diamond Miller, Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith are back and polished, raking in extra points and snagging rebounds.
Tierney Nichols from St. Louis Park sees firsthand how fans are on fire for basketball these days.
“You can tell Minnesota’s just hungry for basketball all the time. Timberwolves are doing well. Lynx are doing well. So everyone’s just so ready for a season to get started,” Nichols said.
Nichols, who has been a Lynx fan since 2012, loves to see Collier do well as she did in Wednesday’s game, scoring 28 points.
“And Diamond Miller is healthy. So this is exciting to watch this team all together, because I think there's only room for improvement for them for where they were last year.”
The ‘W’ is stronger than ever
More people are watching women’s sports. Last year’s season was the most-watched WNBA regular season with 54 million unique viewers across ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ION and NBA TV. Viewing totaled a record 136.29 million hours across all national networks.
Last season also had the highest total attendance in 22 years with 2.35 million fans — up 48 percent from last season.
“Women’s basketball is at the peak where it’s ever been, and as it should be, it’s so fun to watch,” Nichols said.
Last year’s first-round draft pick from Iowa, Caitlin Clark, broke records during her rookie season with Indiana. The Fever’s total home attendance rose to 340,715 fans, marking a single-season record for a WNBA team. It surpassed the previous home attendance record set by New York in 2001 of 250,565 fans in 16 games.
While women’s college basketball took a slight dip in 2024 with stars like Clark and Reese finishing their college careers, viewership and attendance only fell slightly this season in the NCAA. A game between Bueckers’ UConn and JuJu Watkins’ USC in December averaged 2.2 million viewers, peaking at almost 3.8 million.
Already the WNBA’s season is shaping up to be another record-setter. Friday’s game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky drew an staggering average of 2.7 million viewers on ESPN platforms. The game, Clark and Reese’s most recent faceoff, set a record for the most-watched WNBA regular season game on ESPN networks in at least 25 years.
