Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings got it done on Monday night, defeating the Seattle Storm in a 79-56 blowout at College Park Center.
Bueckers, though, struggled from the field in this one. The reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year finished with 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including just 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. Bueckers salvaged her off shooting night with nine rebounds, seven assists and a steal in 24 minutes of action.
Bueckers knows full well that it was not a pretty game for both sides. This is exactly why the 6-foot guard admitted after the game that she felt bad for the fans who came to watch the game live.
"Sometimes you've got to win ugly, like tonight," Bueckers said. "I feel bad for the people who were watching. They should get all their money back.
"I don't even know what the field-goal percentage was on both sides, but sometimes you've got to win ugly. We'll take it and keep moving on."
The Storm shot 32.8% from the field for just 56 points. The Wings did not fare much better, shooting 35.8% as a unit on 81 attempts.
A win is a win, and this was an important one for Bueckers and Co. This was Dallas' first game of the Commissioner's Cup, which now puts them at 1-0 in the in-season tournament. They will be looking to dethrone Caitilin Clark and the Indiana Fever, who won the cup last season.
The Wings improved to 6-3 after Tuesday's lopsided victory. Up next for them is the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday. This marks the beginning of a brief two-game road trip for Dallas, which concludes on June 9 against the Minnesota Lynx.
