Paige Bueckers was nearly perfect in her WNBA playoff debut during the Dallas Wings’ Game 1 against the Golden State Valkyries. But the Bay Area forward Gabby Williams believes the best way to handle her is to make every possession physically demanding.
Bueckers scored 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting in Game 1, but the Valkyries still cruised to a 104-80 win over the Dallas Wings at Chase Center.
Williams spent much of the night defending Bueckers and knows completely shutting down an elite scorer isn't realistic. Instead, the two-time WNBA All-Star plans to make Bueckers work for every shot and trust that the physical pressure will eventually take its toll.
“She's obviously an excellent player, one of the best in our league,” Williams said. “I just want to make everything difficult. Obviously, she hit almost all of her shots today, but as long as I can make them hard, tough shots, where she has to really work for them, and then she gets tired, that's just kind of the goal.”
Article Continues Below“She [Bueckers] is one of the best in our league. She hit almost all of her shots today, but as long as I can make them hard, tough shots, where she has to really work for them, and then she gets tired, that’s the goal.”
– Gabby Williams on her mindset guarding Paige Bueckers pic.twitter.com/M7ZrKSFMKR
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) September 28, 2026
While Bueckers was impressive individually, Golden State's help defense limited the rest of Dallas' offense. The Wings shot just 30% from three-point range, while Jessica Shepard was held scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting.
Williams finished Game 1 with 20 points, four assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes. Bueckers added six rebounds and two assists but finished with a minus-23 rating.
The Valkyries now lead the best-of-three series 1-0 and can advance to the semifinals with another win Wednesday. Game 2 will take place at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on September 30, with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.