BROOKLYN — Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale praised rookie Azzi Fudd‘s development after the No. 1 overall pick’s career-best 24-point performance in the Wings’ 91-76 road win over the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on Sunday afternoon.
“I think it just shows what she’s capable of. Obviously, the world’s putting pressure on her, but it’s day by day. She’s still a rookie. She’s still learning. It’s literally only game seven, and she’s coming into her own,” Ogunbowale said. “But we need her to be aggressive like this — shoot the ball whenever she’s open — and she did that today, so it was good to see.”
Azzi Fudd’s Career Night
Fudd scored 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting in 32 minutes off the bench, including 6-of-12 from three. She set the Wings franchise rookie record for 3-pointers in a single game and scored 17 of her 24 points in the third quarter — tied for the second-most by a rookie in any quarter since the WNBA transitioned to quarters in 2006 and the most by a rookie in a single quarter since Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard on May 15, 2022.
Fudd was a plus-22 in the win and started the second half after coming off the bench in the first.
The rookie attributed the third-quarter takeover to a deliberate change in tempo rather than any tactical adjustment from the coaching staff.
“My goal today was just to play a little bit slower. I felt like I was rushing a little bit every time I caught the ball. I wasn’t reading right away. I was just putting the ball down, going too fast,” Fudd said. “So my goal was just to slow down, and my teammates were setting great screens, giving me great passes. Reading what was there was the key tonight.”
A Veteran Voice On The Rookie Process
Ogunbowale has navigated her own version of the spotlight that comes with being a top draft pick, taken No. 5 overall by the Wings in the 2019 WNBA Draft and now in her eighth season with the franchise. Her framing of Fudd’s process reflects that experience, treating the rookie’s first seven games as the beginning of a longer arc rather than evidence to be debated game by game.
Fudd echoed the same theme postgame, pointing to her teammates’ steady belief through earlier shooting struggles as the foundation for Sunday’s breakout.
“Obviously, to keep shooting, but that’s what I’ve been hearing the last however many games I’ve been playing — every game. They’ve been sticking with me and showing confidence in me, even when I’d been missing all my threes,” Fudd said. “So to have them believe in me when I was missing and then to finally make some tonight felt really good.”
Fudd’s emergence has been steady through the season’s opening stretch. Her minutes have climbed from 18 in her WNBA debut at Indiana on May 9 to 32 against the Liberty on Sunday, and she is averaging 11.0 points on 56.3% shooting and 43.5% from three across her first six appearances.
Dallas Wings Host Las Vegas Aces Thursday
Bueckers matched Fudd with 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Ogunbowale’s 5 made 3-pointers were a season high. The performance marked the third game in Wings history with two teammates each making 5 or more 3-pointers in the same game.
The Wings (4-3) host the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday, May 28, at College Park Center. Tip-off is 7 p.m. CT on Prime.
