Kelsey Plum canned a jumper at the buzzer as part of her 20-point effort, capping a wild fourth quarter and lifting the host Los Angeles Sparks to an 81-80 win over Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings on Wednesday.
Bueckers, the top overall selection in this year’s draft, finished with 44 points — matching the highest-scoring game ever by a WNBA rookie. Cynthia Cooper scored 44 points for the Houston Comets for a game against the Sacramento Monarchs on July 25, 1997, the league’s first season.
The Sparks (17-18) led by seven points at halftime before Dallas leapfrogged to the top by seven after three quarters.
Los Angeles scored the first eight points of the fourth period to get back in the game, after which the advantage switched hands seven times before Bueckers’ jumper with 2:50 remaining staked the Wings to a 79-76 lead.
A three-point play by Dearica Hamby 16 seconds later tied the game. The Sparks’ Rickea Jackson was whistled for a technical foul with 1:03 left, with Bueckers hitting the ensuing free throw to cap her career night and hand Dallas an 80-79 lead.
That set the stage for Plum’s game-winner after a miss by Dallas’ Aziaha James with 20.5 seconds left.
Jackson led the Sparks with 25 points while Hamby had 13 and Cameron Brink scored 11. Los Angeles has alternated wins and losses for seven games.
Maddy Siegrist added 13 points for Dallas (9-27), which has dropped three straight games.
Bueckers made 17 of 21 field-goal attempts, hitting all four of her 3-point shots. She sank all six of her free throws and added four rebounds and three assists.
The Sparks were up 39-24 after a layup by Hamby with 3:11 to play in the second quarter, but Dallas swung back. The Wings finished the half on 13-5 run capped by a late Bueckers jumper to draw within 44-37 at the break.
Jackson led all scorers before halftime with 17 points while Bueckers kept the Wings within shouting distance with 16 first-half points.
The third quarter belonged to Dallas, which climbed back to the lead at 58-57 on a three-point play by Bueckers at the 2:59 mark and reeled off an 8-2 run to carry a 66-59 advantage to the final period.
–Field Level Media
