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ARLINGTON, TX — The Dallas Wings and New York Liberty are set to go head-to-head on Monday night. Before the game, both Sabrina Ionescu and Paige Bueckers spoke to reporters. Ionescu made it clear that she has not been surprised by Bueckers' rookie year success in the WNBA, while Bueckers believes there are elements of Ionescu's game she can learn from.
“I mean, she's just doing what she's always done to be honest,” Ionescu said of Bueckers. “Not surprised by the way that she's played her rookie year. She's done it throughout her entire college career. Obviously, just her ability to kind of just stay steady and knowing what her strengths are and how she can get to her spots on the court.”
Sabrina Ionescu knows Paige Bueckers has been finding success on the basketball floor for plenty of time. It seems as if she had no doubts about Bueckers' ability to handle the WNBA.
Paige, however, is always looking to learn and improve.
“I think how she handles the pressure, how she handles the blitzes,” Bueckers said of learning from Ionescu. “Teams picking her up 94 feet… So to face the best defender on any given night, how she handles that.”
The Paige Bueckers-Sabrina Ionescu matchup will receive plenty of attention, but Wings head coach Chris Koclanes understands it is a team game. He wants to place the focus on the Wings-Liberty clash, but did mention that there will be a level of “compete” between Bueckers and Ionescu.
“Just the level of compete, right? Just look forward to opportunities to go against the best,” Koclanes told reporters. “And again, she will tell you, it's not Paige versus Sabrina at all, right? It's our team versus their team… With what Sabrina's been able to do in this league, Paige is young and a rookie and is looking to establish herself. She certainly will. It's not Paige and Sabrina, but anytime they're matched up against each other, I'm sure there's gonna be an extra level of compete.”
Bueckers will attempt to lead the Wings to an upset over Ionescu and the Liberty on Monday night.
