ARLINGTON, TX — Paige Bueckers knows where Azzi Fudd is going to be.
And turnabout is fair play — Fudd always knows where to find Bueckers, too.
The on-court connection between the Dallas Wings’ bright-burning supernova and its emerging starlet fueled the Dallas Wings’ 85-70 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday at College Park. The dynamic duo was in sync from the Wings’ first score of the game, when Fudd found her backcourt pal open along the left wing for a fastbreak pull-up just 1:14 into the game.
Bueckers dished five assists — to go along with a game-high 31 points — in the win over the Mercury. Four of them went to her college buddy Fuddy. Fudd dished four dimes of her own — to go along with her 17 points — and three of those went to Bueckers.
“Hey,” Fudd said with a smile when she was alerted to that little statistical note in the postgame press conference, before offering Bueckers a high five in the chair next to her.
“Eight-plus years of playing with each other and against each other, and having that chemistry,” Bueckers said. “You see it coming with the entire team, with us learning each other, our tendencies and where we like to be on the floor. Me and Azzi kind of already had that. Every time I pass it to her, I tell her to shoot it, so she gives me assists.”
Their connection was apparent in college, when they both starred for UConn. With the Wings you see it in a knowing glance from one in the other’s direction. It’s noticeable in its subtlety — the way words aren’t necessary between these two.
It’s ball. It’s instinctual. And the relationship between Bueckers and Fudd, the only one that needs to be dissected in the public arena, anyway, has been built over seasons sharing a backcourt. Creating advantages on the floor with a glance, a nod and a heaping helping of athleticism and shooting touch.
Fudd found Bueckers for the Wings’ first score of the second half as well. That one gave the wings their first double-digit lead of the game, putting Dallas up 47-36 just a few seconds into the second half. Later in the third, Bueckers returned the favor for a pair of buckets that extended the Wings’ lead to 15, up 57-42 midway through the frame.
“I think obviously playing together for so long helps with that chemistry,” Fudd said. “But Paige is the kind of player who knows where everyone is on the floor. If they’re open, she knows exactly where to pass it so they can get their shot off.”
Bueckers would find Fudd open behind the 3-point line one more time before the beatdown was finished being administered. Midway through the fourth, she saw Fudd pop open along the right wing and delivered one last dime. When the ball found its home at the bottom of the net, the result was all but guaranteed.
Dallas led 80-61 at the time, and the reserve unit would bring the thing home for an 85-70 win.
