Minnesota Lynx Ride Star's Big Game in Season Opener

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Joe Rutland | Last updated May 17, 2025 8:57 AM ET

If Napheesa Collier wanted to jumpstart the chatter about a possible WNBA MVP season, then she picked the right time to do so. Collier scored 34 points and ruined the WNBA debut of Paige Bueckers as the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Dallas Wings 99-84 on Friday night.

Courtney Williams added 25 points for the Lynx, and teammates Jessica Shepard had 15 and Diamond Miller posted 13.

Collier tied a WNBA record by scoring the most points in a season opener in league history. That's making a statement early for the Lynx, who have some big goals ahead of them.

Bueckers, the former Connecticut star who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, scored the game's first points. She ended up posting 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists in her pro debut. Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 16 points and DiJonai Carrington had 15.

PAIGE BUECKERS' FIRST WNBA BUCKET ✅ pic.twitter.com/iR1aek8kUV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 17, 2025

Collier also played her college ball at Connecticut, so she and Bueckers have a common bond from their days playing for UConn coaching legend Geno Auriemma.

The Lynx, who lost to the New York Liberty in last season's WNBA Finals, and Wings played before an announced sellout crowd of 7,000 at College Park Center on the campus of the University of Texas-Arlington in Arlington, Texas.

Both teams totaled 30 free throws together just before halftime as it was 46-46. Ogunbowale made two free throws with four seconds left in the first half and Carrington stole the inbound pass before feeding Maddy Siegrist for a layup with 1.2 seconds remaining, The Associated Press reported.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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