Sun get trounced but former UConn star Bueckers delights the crowd

Dallas’ Paige Bueckers scored a professional career-high 21 points in Tuesday night’s WNBA game in Uncasville to lead Dallas to their first win of the season.

UNCASVILLE, Conn., May 28, 2025 – The sellout crowd at the Mohegan Sun Arena wanted to cheer for the Sun but winless Connecticut gave them little to cheer about.

But it was OK.

Paige Bueckers, the WNBA’s No.1 draft choice that helped UConn win a national championship just a few months ago, was in town with the Dallas Wings, also looking for their first win of the season.

Bueckers provided plenty of moments for the crowd of 8,910 to cheer about. She scored a professional career-high 21 points with seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot to help lead Dallas to their first win of the season Tuesday night over Connecticut, 109-87.

The Sun (0-5) are off to their worst start in WNBA history. They also started 0-5 in 2020 but had a much more veteran team that year in the COVID-19 bubble in Florida.

Connecticut has the lowest average for points per game (71.8) in the league and their defense is at the bottom of the league in most categories. The Sun were in the game for a little over a quarter before the Wings used a 15-0 second quarter run to seize control of the contest.

The Sun never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

First-year head coach Rachid Meziane has a team with five rookies and a pair of second-year players. Veteran Tina Charles, at the age of 36, had a game-high 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting but it wasn’t nearly enough for the Sun.

Marina Mabrey had 19 points while Bria Hartley came off the bench to score 12 points. They were the only players in double figures for Connecticut.

“We have to play as a team and its not just offensively,” Meziane said. “At the end of the day, we didn’t put our heart into it. We didn’t make the effort just to have a chance to compete and maybe one day, win a game.

“It’s tough. It’s tough for everybody,” Meziane said. “We don’t understand how we have to play together.”

Connecticut’s Tina Charles had a game-high 27 points in Tuesday night’s loss to Dallas in Uncasville.

The crowd was more than happy to cheer on Bueckers and any good basketball play. They didn’t begin to depart until she left the floor with a little over four minutes remaining.

One of the loudest roars came midway through the third quarter. Bueckers blocked Hartley trying to take a three-point shot from about 25 feet away. Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale grabbed the ball out of the air and fed Bueckers, who scored on a driving layup a few seconds later to extend the Wings’ lead to 17 points.

Mabrey hit a three-point shot a few seconds later and the crowd roared loudly.

The Sun may be Connecticut’s team but Bueckers will also be a Huskie that led UConn to a national championship and that will get you cheers for life in this building.

In the first three minutes of the game, Bueckers had two baskets and assists on Dallas’ first three baskets as the Wings raced out to an 11-5 lead.

“It felt great,” Bueckers said. “Obviously, this environment is special to me but for (us) to put a whole 40-minute (game) together and stay together as a team (was special).

Dallas had 26 assists on 37 field goals. They outrebounded the Sun, 35-27, had 10 steals and blocked three shots.

Bueckers was asked what she would remember most about her first professional game on the Mohegan Sun Arena hardwood.

“How had we 26 assists on 37 shots,” she said. “How we played as a team and how unselfish we were and how much we looked like a team.”

Bueckers sank eight of 10 shots from the floor and credited her teammates in finding her in open positions to shoot.

There were all sort of Connecticut threads in this game.

Former Sun players DiJonai Carrington and Ty Harris were recognized with a highlight video before the game. Both players were sent to Dallas in the offseason as part of the trade that sent All-WNBA forward Alyssa Thomas to Phoenix.

Carrington played just 16 minutes but she had 16 points for the Wings. Ogunbowale had 19 for Dllas while Maggie Siegrist added 12. Former Sun player Kaila Charles, who spent part of three seasons with the Sun, had 10 points.

Chris Koclandes, the Dallas head coach, was a former assistant under Curt Miller in Connecticut.

“I felt a sigh of relief for them,” Koclandes said. “It has been frustrating. We’re been doing a lot of good things but we just couldn’t get over the hump. Now, we’ve put that behind us.”

The Sun return to action on Friday night when they travel to Indiana to take on the Fever, who will be missing star forward Caitlyn Clark with a quad injury.

Bueckers returns for another game on the Mohegan Sun Arena floor on Friday, June 20.

Bueckers improved to 16-0 at the Mohegan Sun Arena. She was 15-0 in college with UConn, including a 12-0 record in the Big East tournament.

Connecticut’s Jacy Sheldon grabbed a career-high four steals in the game. She also added six points and a team-high seven assists.

The Dallas Wings’ 109 points mark a new season high for Sun opponents this season. The last time an opponent scored 100+ points against the Sun was the Las Vegas Aces on July 1, 2023.

Dallas 109, Connecticut 87
At Uncasville, Conn.
Dallas (109) Hines-Allen 3-6 2-3, 8 Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Ogunbowale 5-14 6-6 19, Carrington 5-9 4-4 16, Bueckers 8-10 5-6 21, Siegrist 4-9, 2-4 12, McCowan 2-3 1-1 5, Gieselsoder 1-1 0-0 2, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Charles 4-6 2-2 10, James 2-3 3-3 9, Quinerly 2-2 0-0 5, Totals 37-66, 25-29 109
Connecticut (87) Nelson Ododa 1-5 4-6, Charles 9-14 7-7 27, Mabrey 6-12 3-4 19, Sheldon 3-7 0-0 6, Rivers 3-9 2-2 8, Peters 0-3 3-3 6, Parks 0-0 0-0 0, Morrow 1-3 1-5 3, Marshall 0-0 0-0 0, Diaby 0-0 3-4 3, Hartley 4-7 2-5 12. Totals 27-60, 25-36 87
Dallas (1-4)                         23  33  32  21  — 109
Connecticut (0-5)            24  18  32  13  — 87
Three-point goals: Dallas 10-30 (Ogunbowale 3-8, Carrington 2-4, Bueckers 0-1, Siegrist 2-2, Charles 0-1, James 2-3, Quinerly 1-1); Connecticut 8-24 (Chales 2-3, Mabrey 4-9, Sheldon 0-2, Rivers 0-3, Peters 0-1, Morrow 0-1, Hartley 2-5); Att. 8910 (sellout)