Paige Bueckers scored 44 points for the Dallas Wings against the Los Angeles Sparks, setting the WNBA single-game rookie scoring record. She made 17-of-21 shots (81%), hit 4-of-4 three-pointers and was 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, accounting for 55% of her team's points. The Wings lost 81-80 after Kelsey Plum hit a buzzer-beating shot. The rest of the Wings combined to shoot 31% (12-of-39). Bueckers credited repetition, film study, teammate screens, transition reads and mid-range scoring for her efficiency, marking one of the highest single-player scoring percentages in WNBA history.
"It's a lot of repetition in practice," Bueckers said. "And learning and growing, watching film of how you can get to your spots, how you can attack, how you can use your teammates screening for you, attacking in transition and when teams switch on screens. Just reading the possession."
"I truly think basketball has gotten away from it -- it's mostly layups and 3s," she said. "Teams don't know how to guard it. So I think it's an advantage when you can score in the mid-range."
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