The Dallas Wings continued its conquest of the Big East with Monday night’s 2025 WNBA Draft, after it selected the University of Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers as a first-round pick.
In 2023, the Wings drafted Villanova’s own Maddy Siegrist. With these draft picks, Dallas has secured the two best players to come out of the Big East since Breanna Stewart.
“Obviously, we’re thrilled to have Paige in Dallas,” Siegrist told The Villanovan on Wednesday. “Not only for everything she brings to basketball, but all the things she brings off the court as well. I think she’s a great fit. We really need that guard position and she will really help us.”
Though coming from separate schools and playing different positions — Siegrist is a forward, and Bueckers is a guard — the two have some parallel statistics and accolades. During their collegiate careers, Siegrist and Bueckers were standout players in both the Big East and on a national scale.
While they did not often face each other due to age and injury, they have dominated the Big East Player of the Year title for the past five seasons. Siegrist was awarded the title in 2022 and 2023, while Bueckers took the title home in 2021, 2024 and 2025.
“The Big East has been such a strong conference for a long time,” Siegrist said. “The year I left, in 2023, there were five teams in the [NCAA] Tournament from the Big East. So I think it’s just a testament to the talent and being one of the most historical leagues. I remember when I was picking my school, I wanted to play in the Big East. It’s just a well-known basketball conference, which helps to attract a lot of high talent.”
At Villanova, Siegrist dethroned Shelly Pennefather to become the all-time leading scorer at Villanova. She finished her career with 2,896 points and still remains the No. 1 scorer in the Big East. Siegrist also ranks third in the country for most points in a single season with 1,081.
Despite heading into her third WNBA season, Siegrist has stayed close to her Villanova roots. After her second year in Dallas, Siegrist joined the Villanova staff in a player development role. She then headed to Nashville, TN for the four-week Athletes Unlimited season, where she won the championship on March 2.
Although Siegrist faced a hand injury last season with the Wings, she averages 9.4 points per game.
“It’s just versatility,” Siegrist said. “I’m always going to play as hard as I can. Maybe it’s getting extra possessions by offensive rebounds or getting a steal. We’ve been efficient on the offensive end and then being long and disruptive on the defensive end, just if you bring that every night.”
As for the WNBA rookie-to-be, Bueckers only had three full collegiate seasons due to injuries in her sophomore and junior years. As a Husky, Bueckers finished her career with 2,439 points. She became the fastest UConn player to reach 2,000 career points and capped off her collegiate performance by leading the Huskies to a 2025 National Championship.
“You just have a level of excitement, nervousness, bittersweet feeling knowing that my journey at UConn is over,” Bueckers told ESPN at the WNBA Draft. “But excited for the next one to begin.”
Siegrist anticipates how Bueckers will likely slot into the point guard position for the Wings to contribute assists and facilitate the basketball, as she did at UConn. Last season, Dallas’s Arike Ogumbawale was the league’s top-scoring point guard, averaging 22.2 points per game.
“When you have somebody at that caliber along with [Ogumbawale] and a lot of other players, you could play in space too,” Siegrist said. “You can’t really double-off anybody. What are you going to do in a [Bueckers-Ogunbowale] handoff? I’m not sure. So I think it’ll be exciting for the whole team.”
Heading into the 2025 WNBA season, the Big East pair — along with Dallas teammates such Ogunbowale, Dijonai Carrington and NaLyssa Smith — are looking to use each other’s elite scoring abilities to make a run to the playoffs.
Until then, the preseason is around the corner and will commence on May 2, followed by Dallas’s home opener on May 16.
“A big thing is chemistry and knowing it’s a long season,” Siegrist said. “Obviously, the goal is to get to the playoffs, and once you’re in the playoffs, anything can happen. I think we’ve seen that in sports a million times, but you just gotta get there, and you gotta win the games you’re supposed to. Those games in May and June will come back and haunt you in September. So as a team, we gotta take care of business early in the first few weeks.”
The Wings officially begin their season on Friday, May 16 against the Minnesota Lynx (7:30 p.m., ION).
