The Guru’s WNBA Report: Bueckers Gets 19 But Dallas Falls to Seattle Led by Newcomers Ogwumike and Diggins

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Overall No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers ramped up her performance Monday night in her second WNBA appearance in the only game on the league schedule, scoring 19 points on 7-14 from the field while dealing eight assists and grabbing five boards, but the contest in Dallas between two teams after their first win in the very young season went to Seattle 79-71 paced by newcomer Nneka Ogwumike, a free-agent signee veteran leaving Los Angeles, with 23 points and 18 rebounds.

Gabby Williams, a former UConn standout in the game besides Bueckers, scored 17 for the Storm (1-1), while grabbing five rebounds and five assists.

Williams played on the French team last summer that lost to the United States by a point in the Olympic gold medal game in Paris.

Former Notre Dame sensation Skylar Diggins, formerly with Phoenix and previously Dallas, scored 21, including 3-4 from deep for the visitors against the Wings (0-2).

Villanova great Maddy Siegriest off the bench for Dallas joined starter Nalyssa Smith with 12 points, each, Siegriest connecting on 2-of-4 three-point attempts, while reserve Teaira McCowan scored 10 and joined Myisha Hines-Allen with team highs of nine boards.

Seattle moved from a one-point deficit after the opening quarter to dominate the next 31-15 and head to the break in command 56-41 but the Wings rallied for a 20-10 third period to trail 66-61 heading to the final period before a crowd of 6,137 in the College Park Center on the suburban campus of Texas-Arlington.

“To Maddy’s point if we’re going to compete night after night it’s going to take a level of hard work and effort, which we have within us but hasn’t been demanded of us consistently, but we will get that,” said first-year Dallas coach Kris Koclanes.

Former Notre Dame all-American Arike Ogunbowale, one of the WNBA’s top scorers, was held in check again, shooting 2-14 and held to eight points.

“We’re just working to get better as a team and not focused on any two or three combos,” Buecker said, responding to being in the backcourt with Ogunbowale, while also acknowledging her teammate’s acclaimed reputation.

Dallas hits the road for the first time Wednesday playing at Minnesota (2-0) at 8 p.m. on League Pass after having lost at home to the WNBA runner-up in Friday’s season opener.

Seattle is off until hosting Phoenix Friday at 10 p.m. on ION.

League Pass is the WNBA’s streaming platform for viewing games not aired by the the national telecast and streaming partners.

On Tuesday’s slate, Las Vegas is at Connecticut at 7 p.m., both teams, 0-1, while Indiana hosts (1-0) Atlanta (0-1) the same time, both games on League Pass and the Fever game with Caitlin Clark also on NBA TV.

Responding at Indiana’s practice Monday for reaction to the WNBA’s investigation of racist comments from fans toward Chicago’s Angel Reese in Saturday’s opener following Clark being assessed a flagrant foul trying to stop an easy layup by Reese, the NCAA’s all-time scorer out of Iowa said in support of the league’s action being helped by the Fever, “There’s no place for that in our game, there’s no place for that in our society.

“Certainly, we want every person who comes into our arena, whether player or fan, to have a great experience,” the reigning rookie of the year continued.

“I appreciate the league doing (the investigation). I appreciate that the Fever organization has been at the forefront of that since day one. The investigation we’ll leave up to them to find anything and take the proper action, if so.”

Clark is coming off her third career triple double in Saturday’s win.