It was a hard pill to swallow for the Dallas Wings after a first-round exit against the Golden State Valkyries. It also marked the end of Paige Bueckers’ first WNBA playoff run on Friday.
The Wings fell 77-73 to the Valkyries in a Game 3 at Chase Center, ending Dallas’ season in the first round. Bueckers finished with 17 points, six assists and two steals, but struggled to find her rhythm offensively, shooting 3-of-14 from the field.
However, Wings coach Jose Fernandez made sure her impact on the team’s turnaround did not go unnoticed. Fernandez pointed to Bueckers’ leadership when reflecting on the Wings’ season and their unexpected run to the playoffs.
Article Continues Below“We only get to this point because of Paige. She's a first-team All-WNBA player. She takes ownership in carrying the load. The great ones do,” Fernandez said.
Bueckers had opened the series with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting in Dallas’ Game 1 loss. The Valkyries then made life harder for her, holding her to 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting in Game 2 before Friday’s 17-point effort.