The Dallas Wings and Indiana Fever went head-to-head last Friday night in Dallas at the American Airlines Center. Indiana emerged victorious, earning an 88-78 win. Wings rookie Paige Bueckers played well, however, scoring 22 points while Sophie Cunningham defended her on a fairly consistent basis. During a recent episode of Cunningham's podcast, Show Me Something, Sophie told a story about Bueckers from the game.
“There was this one play where, second half, she, like, went to the left and I cut her off. And she did, like, a step-through and, like, banked it,” Cunningham said. “We were there so the whole crowd is like, ‘ooh.' And I was like, ‘alright, yeah, that's a good move.' And we were running back and she goes, ‘hey, I traveled on that last one'… I was like, ‘you know, I kind of thought you did.'
“But, we were just, like, talking it up or something and then, like, I fouled but it wasn't a foul. They called it. And I told our coaches to challenge it. I think she (Bueckers) was like, ‘yeah, they should have challenged that.' I was like, ‘I know.' I was like, ‘they never listen to me.'”
Paige Bueckers is in the middle of a tremendous rookie season. The Wings have struggled overall, but Bueckers is the clear front-runner to win the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award, something Sophie Cunningham seems to agree with.
“I love her,” Cunningham said of Bueckers. “No, I don't really have a relationship with her off the court. But I just, like, love her vibe and her energy. Like, I just think that she is a good freaking human. She really is, she's just, like, a great teammate and she's a phenomenal leader… I am all for that. She's probably gonna get Rookie of the Year, as she should.”
Bueckers' Wings will play Cunningham's Fever once again on Tuesday, August 12 in Indiana.
