Paige Bueckers threw up 25 points, grabbed seven boards and dished seven assists Thursday night. The Dallas Wings beat the Connecticut Sun 86-83 at PeoplesBank Arena. But the box score wasn’t really the story.
This one felt different. Bueckers and Azzi Fudd spent five years as Huskies in that same state. They won national titles there. And now, with the Sun packing up for Houston next season, this might’ve been their last game in Connecticut for a while.
Bueckers didn’t hide what it meant.
“Just how grateful I am for them, the support throughout the entire five years, but I know it’s gonna be continued for the rest of my life,” she said after the game. “Like I talked about before, it’s just like a family. Just this entire state supporting us, backing us, loving women’s basketball, loving everything about it.”
A full-circle moment that landed hard
Fudd, the rookie who scored four points with four rebounds and five assists in the win, backed up her former teammate’s sentiment.
“The five years that we both had here, they (fans) showed up every single night. It was such an incredible experience that I wouldn’t change. They’re part of the reason that it’s the basketball capital of the world,” Fudd said.
The WNBA posted a clip of both players sharing their thanks with the caption calling it a full-circle moment. It got around.
Bueckers also floated an idea she’d love to see happen: an exhibition game at Harry Gampbel A. Pavilion, the old Huskies home court. “That would be really cool. So I’m kind of speaking that into existence,” the reigning Rookie of the Year said.
The Wings snapped a two-game losing streak and moved to 12-8. Connecticut fell to 4-16, the league’s worst record. The game itself was tight — an 86-83 final that went down to the wire.
A franchise reborn, a legacy leaving
The Sun are headed to Houston next season. The franchise will be renamed the Houston Comets, bringing back the name of the WNBA’s first dynasty. Tilman Fertitta, who owns the Houston Rockets, bought the team in March for a record $300 million.
For Bueckers and Fudd, Thursday was a goodbye to a place that shaped their careers. Maybe not forever. But for now, it hit.
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