Paige Bueckers’ WNBA debut spoiled by fellow UConn alum Napheesa Collier

Napheesa Collier scored 34 points, spoiling the WNBA debut of fellow UConn alum Paige Bueckers and leading the Minnesota Lynx to a 99-84 victory over the Dallas Wings in the season opener for both teams Friday night.

Bueckers scored the first points of the season for the Wings, and the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft finished with 10 in front of an announced sellout at the 7,000-seat arena on the campus of Texas-Arlington.

Collier started a 13-1 run midway through the third quarter with a bucket in close and finished it with a free throw for a 71-58 lead for the Lynx, who lost to the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals last year.

Courtney Williams had 25 points and nine assists and Jessica Shepard had 15 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota.

All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas with 16 points. DiJonai Carrington, acquired from the Connecticut Sun in an offseason trade as part of a roster overhaul after the Wings missed the playoffs in 2024, added 15 points.

Bueckers opened the scoring when she drove the lane after a nifty crossover move, missed the runner, grabbed the rebound and hit the putback. Her first assist came on a 3-pointer by Carrington that put Dallas up 51-50 in the second half.

A foul-filled first half included one on Bueckers when she got stuck playing post defense against Collier. Before Collier made both free throws after a timeout, she and Bueckers had a friendly chat at the line.

The teams combined for 30 free throws before halftime, when the game was tied at 46 after Ogunbowale made two free throws with four seconds left and Carrington stole the inbound pass before feeding Maddy Siegrist for a layup with 1.2 seconds remaining.

Bueckers missed both of her 3-point attempts and was 3-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds and two assists.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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