The WNBA preseason tipped off Friday with Paige Bueckers making her pro debut for the Dallas Wings against the Las Vegas Aces.
Facing an Aces squad returning four starters from their back-to-back title teams in 2022-23, plus two-time champion Jewell Loyd in the mix, Dallas faced an uphill battle as Las Vegas won in a rout 112-78.
Jackie Young starred in her return to South Bend, Ind., scoring 28 points and adding nine assists as Aces coach Becky Hammon extended Young’s minutes into the fourth quarter to the delight of Notre Dame fans. Young was particularly effective getting to the line, taking a career-best 13 free throws and making all of them.
Fellow Fighting Irish alums Loyd and Arike Ogunbowale had more muted performances, combining for 15 points. Loyd was tasked as Bueckers’ primary defender, however, and was in a defensive stance uncommon to most preseason action.
The Dallas starters were a little out of sorts, and Bueckers struggled to find the appropriate balance between hunting her shot and feeding her teammates. On one action, Bueckers was at the top of the key and found Ogunbowale in the corner coming off a screen, but the pass was too long, and the possession short-circuited. Nevertheless, in classic Bueckers fashion, she shot better than 50 percent from the…
