Paige Bueckers cements herself as Rookie of the Year but all-time performance spoiled by Kelsey Plum at buzzer

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Paige Bueckers cemented herself as the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year on Wednesday night with a historic 44-point performance, but her Dallas Wings were stunned at the buzzer by Kelsey Plum, who lifted the Los Angeles Sparks to an 81-80 victory that kept their playoff hopes alive. 

Bueckers’ 44 points tied Cynthia Cooper-Dyke for the highest-scoring game by a rookie in league history. However, it must be noted that Cooper-Dyke’s effort came in the league’s inaugural 1997 season when she was 34 years old and had already played professionally overseas. The previous record by a true rookie was 40 points by Candace Parker in 2008. 

Bueckers, who shot an incredible 17 of 21 from the field, put the Wings ahead on a technical free throw with just over a minute to play. That looked like it was going to be the winning point until Plum saved the Sparks on the final possession. She weaved around the defense until she found an opening in the lane and banked home a runner that sent Crypto.com Arena into hysterics. 

Plum shot just 9 of 23 from the field, but stepped up when it mattered to get the Sparks a huge win. 

With this victory, Los Angeles improved to 17-18 and pulled within a half-game of the eighth-place Seattle Storm, who currently occupy the final playoff spot.