The Dallas Wings are in the thick of a playoff push, sitting eighth in the WNBA standings. A win over the Portland Fire on Tuesday night at College Park Center would send Dallas back to the playoffs for the first time since 2023, and the Wings will carry plenty of momentum into that game after Sunday’s win over the Seattle Storm.
Paige Bueckers was the reason why. The two-time All-Star delivered one of the best performances of her career, leading Dallas past Seattle 92-70 behind a game-high 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting. She was perfect from three, going 6-for-6, and the hot start came early.
Bueckers made all five of her three-point attempts in the first half alone, making her just the second player in Wings history to shoot 100% from deep on at least five attempts in a half. Her first quarter was just as remarkable.
With the playoffs now within reach, Bueckers was asked after the game how locked in Dallas needs to be with Tuesday’s matchup looming.
“Honestly, we want to have the same approach every single game, and play every game like it’s a playoff game and play every game like it’s the most important one ahead of us,” Bueckers said. “So, obviously that’s the next one on the schedule. But we can’t play like we’re trying to make the playoffs. We’ve got to play to our identity and to what we want to build on and to what we’ve been this entire season. Obviously, the stakes are higher, but once you focus on that, you kind of lose sight of where you are in the present.”
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Bueckers scored 18 points in the opening period, the most by a Wings player in a quarter since 2024 and tied for the highest-scoring first quarter in franchise history. That total by itself outscored Seattle’s entire first-quarter output of 17 points, and it came before Bueckers had even approached her previous career-high for a quarter, which sat at 15 points.
The reigning Rookie of the Year, is averaging 20.3 points, 5.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game this season.
Her efficiency has also improved as the year has gone on, with her overall shooting climbing from 47.7% to 49.9% and her three-point percentage rising from 33.1% to 37.3%.
Dallas and Portland tip off Tuesday night at College Park Center.
