UConn’s Morgan Cheli reacts as Paige Bueckers gets her first Dallas Wings bucket in WNBA preseason game vs Las Vegas Aces 

Morgan Cheli showed some love for her former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers as the latter started her WNBA career on Friday night. Cheli reacted to a video she shared on her Instagram story of Bueckers scoring her first basket for the Dallas Wings in their preseason game against the Las Vegas Aces.

The clip, which was posted by the Instagram pages of the WNBA and NBA, showed Bueckers driving to the lane and scoring a left-handed layup to open her account for the Wings. Cheli included an emoji of a face holding back tears when sharing the video with her more than 42,000 Instagram followers.

Morgan Cheli reacts to Paige Bueckers scoring her first preseason basket for the Dallas Wings in the WNBA on her Instagram story. Source: Instagram/@morgancheli

Bueckers' first basket came with 6:15 remaining in the first quarter, cutting the Aces' lead to 9-6. The Wings finished the opening period strong, unleashing a 12-2 run to grab a 25-23 advantage entering the second quarter.

Things went south, however, for the Wings during that period. Las Vegas outscored Dallas 32-11 in the second quarter to establish a 55-36 lead at the halftime break. The Aces never looked back after that, outscoring the Wings 57-42 in the second half to secure the commanding 112-78 victory.

Bueckers scored in double figures in her preseason debut, dropping 10 points in 23 minutes of action. She shot 4-for-7 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from the 3-point area. She also grabbed four boards and issued one assist in the loss.

Three other players scored in double figures for the Wings, who will face the Toyota Antelopes next in the preseason. JJ Quinerly led the scoring for Dallas with 16 points off the bench. Fellow reserves Maddy Siegrist and Aziaha James scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, against Las Vegas.

How Paige Bueckers and Morgan Cheli fared for UConn in 2024-25 NCAA season

Paige Bueckers dazzled in her final season for UConn, averaging 19.9 points, 4.6 dimes, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals through 38 games for the Huskies in the 2024-25 campaign. She was a vital cog for Geno Auriemma during their title run, averaging 24.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.8 spg and 1.3 bpg in this year's March Madness.

UConn Huskies guard Morgan Cheli (#23) drives the ball against Seton Hall Pirates forward Savanna Jones (#4) in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Photo: Imagn

Morgan Cheli, on the other hand, averaged 2.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 1.3 apg through 24 games in her freshman season with the Huskies. However, she didn't see any action for UConn in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.