Los Angeles Sparks 81-80 Dallas Wings, WNBA: Bueckers Credits Hard Work For 44-Point Haul

Paige Bueckers credited her dazzling display for the Dallas Wings on Wednesday to “a lot of repetition in practice”, torching the Los Angeles Sparks for a WNBA rookie record 44 points.

Despite her historic showing, it wasn’t enough as Kelsey Plum nailed a buzzer-beater to give the Sparks a dramatic 81-80 win at Crypto.com Arena.

Bueckers’ incredible stat line—17-of-21 shooting, a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, and 4-for-4 from three-point range—made her the first player in league history to hit 80% from the field while scoring 40-plus points.

She scored more than half the Wings’ total, accounting for 55% of Dallas’ points, the highest mark since 2004 and the fifth-largest in WNBA history.

However, the Sparks found themselves on the right side of the scoreline, despite trailing 66-59 going into the fourth quarter.

Bueckers has now broken her tie with Cynthia Cooper for the third-longest streak of consecutive double-digit scoring games by a rookie in WNBA history, recording her 29th straight game with at least 10 points. A’ja Wilson owns the record with 33 games, Candace Parker is second with 32, and Cooper now ranks fourth with 28.

Discussing her iconic performance, Bueckers said: “It’s a lot of repetition in practice, and learning and growing, watching film of how you can get to your spots, how you can attack, how you can use your team-mates’ screening for you, attacking in transition, and when teams switch on screens. Just reading the possession.”

Known for her efficient scoring, Bueckers also praised the often-overlooked midrange game. “I truly think basketball has gotten away from it—it’s mostly layups and 3s. Teams don’t know how to guard it. So I think it’s an advantage when you can score in the midrange,” she said.

While the result meant the Wings have won just two of their last 10 games, Bueckers remains motivated by her team’s resilience. “I’ve always prided myself in the team winning, so that’s obviously the main goal.

“I’m most proud of this team and the way we fight. This team just means so much to me. Just the way we invest. We love each other. It could be easy for us to be [9-27] and be miserable and hate coming to work, but we show up for each other. We’re learning and growing together. What we’re building here, it just makes me so happy.”