Bueckers helps Dallas erase 14-point deficit to beat the Sun in Hartford

Dallas’ Paige Bueckers keeps the ball away from Connecticut’s Leila Lacan during Thursday night’s WNBA game in Hartford. It was the largest crowd to watch a WNBA game in state history.

HARTFORD, July 2, 2026 – The Connecticut Sun blew another fourth quarter lead in Thursday night’s WNBA game at the People’s Bank Arena.

But a vast majority of the 14,578 fans in the building, the largest crowd to watch a WNBA game in the state, went home happy anyways.

That’s because crowd favorite Paige Bueckers of Dallas, the former UConn All-American star and No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, scored 11 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the visiting Wings to an 86-83 win over the Sun.

Connecticut (4-16) led by as many as 14 points with 6:58 left in the third quarter and had an 11-point lead with 7:50 left in the game.

But Dallas (12-8) kept coming. Bueckers had 11 points in the final 5:41 while Azzi Fudd had four. Connecticut’s Aaliyah Edwards had seven of her 11 points in the final 2:02 of the game. At one point, Bueckers and Edwards were trading baskets.

“They were a great crowd. It was a great environment. It felt like a home game,” Bueckers said. “It was just fun to play here back in Connecticut. I enjoy being here. I love everything about it.

Fudd, Bueckers teammate at UConn and the top pick in the 2026 WNBA draft, finished with four points but they came at crunch time in the final five minutes. Jessica Shepard, who was named as a starter in the upcoming WNBA All-Star Game along with Bueckers, had 14 points and six rebounds.

“She is just different,” Dallas head coach Jose Fernandez said. “She’s such a competitor and a winner. She just refuses to lose. And certain guys don’t want the ball in their hand or don’t want to take the big shot. And she never shies away from the big moment.”

Tied at 78 with 1:17 left, Bueckers hit a step back shot from 17 feet and was fouled. She hit the foul shot to give the Wings a three-point lead.

Edwards responded with a basket inside and a foul shot for a three-point play with 1:07 remaining to tie the game at 81-81. Fudd hit a 16-foot jumper with 51 seconds left only to see Edwards sink a driving layup with 38.1 seconds left to tie the game at 83-83.

Bueckers sank 1-of-2 free throws with 25.9 seconds left to give the Wings a one-point lead. The Wings played solid defense, forcing Lelia Lacan to put up an awkward shot with 2.9 seconds remaining.

Shepard sank two three throws with 2.9 seconds left for an 86-83 lead.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for Dallas and ended Connecticut’s modest two-game winning streak – their first winning streak of the season.

Connecticut’s Aaliyah Edwards (8) scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth quarter Thursday night in Hartford.

Lacan led the Sun with 18 points while UCLA rookie Charlise Leger-Walker, who is looking more and more comfortable at point guard had 14 points. Brittney Griner had 13 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds with Olivia Nelson Ododa scoring 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Sun also recognized Curt Miller and former guard Jasmine Thomas as Connecticut Sun legends, retiring Thomas’ uniform number. Miller is now the executive vice president and general manager of the Wings while Thomas is the assistant GM. Miller led the Sun to two WNBA finals with Thomas as his starting point guard in both seasons — 2019 and 2022.

This was the second of two games in Hartford this year for the Sun, who had not played in Hartford since their first season in the WNBA in 2003.

The previous record crowd came in May 2001 when a WNBA exhibition between New York, featuring former UConn star Rebecca Lobo, and Washington drew 11,389 to the Hartford Civic Center.