Paige Bueckers did her part with 29 points, six rebounds, and six assists, but the Dallas Wings still fell to the Indiana Fever on August 14.

The Dallas Wings were actually ahead of their opponents for the first half at 37-35. But Indiana took control after halftime, with Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston helping the Fever turn the game around. Bueckers later opened up about the loss in the post-match press conference.

"I mean, we fought. We had a good fight. We thought for majority of the game." Bueckers said. "I think we talked about it in the fourth quarter. They just laid it on us. They played more physical, they wanted it more, and that's unacceptable as a team."

The Wings were also missing three key players, with Jess Shepard and Azzi Fudd dealing with injuries and Aziaha James' return still uncertain. It would have been easy for Dallas to point to those absences after the loss.

Bueckers wasn't interested in doing that. Instead, she made it clear that the message had to be about the players who were available and what they needed to do better.

"We don't think being down people is an excuse," Bueckers said to the press, per the Dallas Wings' YouTube. "We have a really good team and really good players coming off the bench, and a deep team, so we want to get these wins regardless."

That's the kind of message Bueckers wanted the Wings to take from the loss. The injuries mattered, but she wasn't willing to let them become the reason Dallas walked away without a win.

The matchup was certainly close for a very long duration. The Dallas Wings managed to clinch the lead ahead of the fourth quarter at 66-63, with Bueckers and Maddy Siegrist making big shots.

However, the team could not find an answer to the Indiana Fever in the last quarter. Regardless, Bueckers earned praise from her opponent at the very end.

Caitlin Clark praises Paige Bueckers' effort

Both Clark and Bueckers went shot-for-shot with one another, leading their teams with 29 points each. Clark later applauded Bueckers' performance during the post-match press conference.

"I mean, obviously she's an incredible player. Makes it really hard on us defensively," Clark said to the press per Indiana Fever's YouTube. "We tried to throw a lot of different things at her. She's so good in the mid-range."

Clark also praised Kelsey Mitchell's work against Bueckers, particularly during the later stages of the game.

Bueckers had done her part, but the message after the loss was clear: the Wings have to find a way to win with whoever is available. She and Clark will get another chance to go at it on August 21.

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Written by

Prit Chauhan

Edited by

Rudra Dubey