UConn women’s basketball great Napheesa Collier shattered the WNBA All-Star game scoring record in dramatic fashion on Saturday night in Indianapolis, nailing a shot from the newly-added 4-point circle less than five minutes into the fourth quarter to surpass Arike Ogunbowale’s 34 points scored in 2024.
The Minnesota Lynx superstar finished with 36 points on 13-for-16 shooting plus nine rebounds to lead her squad to a 151-131 victory over the team captained by Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark — though Clark was unable to compete in the game due to a groin injury. Team Collier also took down the team All-Star game scoring record, previously set by fellow Huskies legend Breanna Stewart‘s team with 143 points in 2023. Collier was a reserve on that 2023 roster, and Stewart started alongside her former UConn teammate to in 2025.
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“By design I tried to make my team not have that many new players (to me). I’ve played with a lot of them, so it was really good to get back with them,” Collier said postgame with her All-Star MVP trophy perched on the table beside her. “We broke a lot of records … It’s just so fun, and we had a really great time.”
All-Star weekend was a family affair for the Huskies with four alumni participating in the game, and rookie phenom Paige Bueckers joined the pair of veteran superstars in the starting lineup for Team Collier. Bueckers made history of her own, rattling in the first 4-point shot of the game barely 30 seconds into her All-Star debut. The 4-point circles marked 28 feet from the rim were a new addition to this year’s event, and though they ratcheted up the teams’ point totals dramatically, they also gave the game a far more casual feel than it has had in the past.
Bueckers was asked on the ESPN broadcast what Geno Auriemma would say about the defensive effort from Team Collier and joked that the longtime UConn coach would be appalled.
“Just completely awful. Disturbing demonstration of basketball on both ends of the floor,” Bueckers quipped with a grin. “We’re actually making a lot of shots, but that’s probably because our defense is trash.”
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Bueckers finished with six points and eight assists in her first All-Star game, and Stewart added eight points, four rebounds and two assists in her seventh appearance. On the opposite bench, UConn alum Gabby Williams also made her All-Star debut and recorded 16 points, five assists and a steal for Team Clark.
The competition itself was lighthearted, and Collier’s team broke down their huddle with a cheer of “Team Hangover!” after partying together for the last two nights in Indianapolis. But players on both teams took a more serious and unified tone to advocate for themselves before and after the game. The WNBA Players Association is in the midst of a contentious negotiation with the league with its collective bargaining agreement set to expire in October, and every All-Star wore t-shirts during warmups that bore the slogan, “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”
A major sticking point in negotiations has been increased salaries and revenue sharing, particularly amid the WNBA’s recent explosion in popularity. While their NBA counterparts earn a 50% share of the league’s annual revenue, WNBA players receive less than 10% under the current CBA.
“They players are what is building this brand and this league. There is no league without the players,” Collier said. “We’re the ones that have put in the blood, sweat and tears for this new money that’s coming in, and we feel like we’re owed a piece of that pie that we helped to create.”
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More than 40 players, including all four of UConn’s All-Stars, also attended an hours-long meeting with WNBA leadership earlier this week, though many left those discussions feeling dissatisfied with the league’s response. Stewart, a vice president of the WNBPA, told reporters on site that she felt it was “a wasted opportunity,” and Bueckers called the WNBA’s counterproposal to the players, “kind of disrespectful.”
Collier, also a WNBPA vice president, received her MVP trophy from commissioner Cathy Engelbert amid chants of “Pay them,” from the sold-out crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Collier emphasized that message postgame, noting that the vocal support from the fans was unexpected and especially meaningful.
“The awareness that we’ve raised this weekend … the fans doing that chant, that gave me chills,” Collier said. “It means everything just that they support us so fully. A lot of things are in the court of public opinion, and it does matter what people are thinking. Of course the league recognizes that as well, so I think adding that pressure is really great for us, and I’m really grateful that fans are backing us.”
