Kelsey Plum played it perfectly on Wednesday night, and spoiled what was a historic outing from Paige Bueckers in the process.
Plum, with the Los Angeles Sparks down by a single point in the final seconds on Wednesday, drove into the lane and expertly sank a bank shot right as the buzzer sounded to lift her team to an 81-80 win over Bueckers and the Dallas Wings. That set off a massive celebration at Crypto.com Arena.
The shot capped a battle between the two franchises down the stretch. There were eight lead changes, all but one of which was by just a single point, in the second half of the fourth quarter. Beckers hit a technical free throw with just over a minute left to put the Wings up 80-79, and then Dearica Hamby picked up a rebound off a missed jumper from Aziaha James to set up Plum’s game winner.
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Bueckers still finished with 44 points in the loss for Dallas. That matched the WNBA’s single-game rookie record, which was first set by Cynthia Cooper during the league’s inaugural season in 1997. It’s also the highest-scoring night from any player in the league this season, and the first 40-point night in WNBA history from a player that shot at least 80% from the field. Bueckers went a wild 17-of-21 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc.
Bueckers accounted for more than half of the Wings’ points in the loss, too. Maddy Siegrist was the only other player to hit double figures with her 13-point performance.
Rickea Jackson led the Sparks with 25 points and five rebounds in the win after she shot 6-of-7 from the 3-point line. Plum added 20 points, but went 1-of-9 from deep, and Hamby finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. The win pushed the Sparks to 17-18 on the season, and has them just half of a game out of the final playoff spot.
Sparks knock Wings, Sky out of playoff race
While it was likely going to happen regardless, based on where they were in the standings, the loss on Wednesday made it official.
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The Wings, and the Chicago Sky, are both out of the playoff race this season.
The Wings fell to 9-27 with the loss, which was their third straight and eighth in nine games. They’ll now miss the playoffs for a second straight season and for the first time under new head coach Chris Koclanes.
The Sky were also mathematically eliminated on Wednesday. They sit at just 8-26 and have lost five straight after falling to the Seattle Storm on Tuesday night. That marked star Angel Reese’s first game back after she missed seven straight with a back injury. The Sky are also missing the playoffs for a second straight season under a first-year head coach.
The Connecticut Sun are the only other team that has been eliminated already.
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Though this postseason will be without two of the league’s top young stars with both Reese and Bueckers watching from home, Bueckers appears to be the easy favorite to claim the Rookie of the Year award. It’s hard to argue differently after a performance like the one she put up in downtown Los Angeles.
