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Paige Bueckers Reacts After Winning First Preseason Game in WNBA With Wings

Paige Bueckers earned the win in front of the Wings' home crowd.

Eva Geitheim

Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers poses for a photo during the 2025 Dallas Wings Media Day.
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers poses for a photo during the 2025 Dallas Wings Media Day. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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Paige Bueckers earned the first preseason win of her WNBA career on Saturday, helping the Dallas Wings defeat the Toyota Antelopes of Japan 119-52. The prized No. 1 draft pick made her WNBA debut a week ago on the road against the Las Vegas Aces, scoring 10 points for her team in a 112-78 loss.

Playing in front of the home crowd for the first time, Bueckers scored 15 points with five rebounds and six assists. She showed her chemistry with Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale on the court, connecting on multiple passes with her teammate during the game.

What made the win better was the electrifying home crowd, who were excited to see Bueckers play her first game at home, and for some fans, even get her autograph.

"It's amazing," Bueckers said after the game. "The turnout, just the environment itself, they love women's basketball here. To be able to start this season off with a great environment like this, to show out in front of Dallas, to feel that embrace for the first time, it's been amazing.

Bueckers will officially make her WNBA regular season debut at home next Friday, when the Wings host the Minnesota Lynx to open their season.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.

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