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WNBA Rookie Hype Delivers
August 21: Bueckers and Citron rewrite rookie scoring records, Natisha Hiedeman heads to Marquette's Hall of Fame, and the WNBA breaks its attendance record.
Kim Nunley
August 21, 2025
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What to Know About Women’s Basketball Today
1. Season of Historic Rookie Scoring 🤯
The Rookie of the Year race has leveled up with some record-breaking scoring performances.
Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers exploded for 44 points in last night’s narrow loss to the Sparks, tying Cynthia Cooper’s 1997 mark for the most points ever by a rookie in a single game. (Sports Illustrated)
Meanwhile in D.C., Mystics rookie Sonia Citron passed Chamique Holdsclaw’s 26-year-old franchise rookie record of 525 points. Citron now sits at 537 and counting, with nine regular-season games still to play. (WNBA)
WHY IT MATTERS: Bueckers has been jaw-droppingly efficient all season, capped by her 40+ night on 81% shooting. Citron, on the other hand, has been the steady engine powering Washington’s playoff push — a poised scorer and defender who’s exceeded every expectation.
No matter how the Rookie of the Year vote shakes out, this season features one special rookie class.
2. Natisha Hiedeman Is Headed to Marquette’s HOF 🏆
Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman Has been named to the Marquette University M Club Hall of Fame Class of 2025. (Marquette Athletics)
WHY IT MATTERS: A four-year star for the Golden Eagles (2016–2019), Hiedeman was the unanimous BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2019. She graduated as the program’s third-all-time leading scorer and the first player to reach 300 career three-pointers. Today, she’s a valuable spark off the bench for the WNBA’s top squad.
3. WNBA Breaks All-Time Regular Season Attendance Record 🔥
If you’ve been to a WNBA game this season, you’ve been part of history. Over 2.3 million fans have attended games so far, breaking the all-time regular season record, with three weeks still to go. (Front Office Sports)
WHY IT MATTERS: This season’s attendance record proves how much the league is growing. It passes the previous record of 2.36 million fans, set back in 2002. What’s more striking: this year’s milestone came in 215 games, 41 fewer than it took in 2002. Teams are averaging more than 11,000 fans per game this year.
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OVERTIME ⏱️
A’mazing: A'ja Wilson has scored 30+ points in three straight games for the Aces. She’s now second all-time in career 30-point games.
Another Two Out: With the Sparks’ win over Dallas on Wednesday, both the Wings and the Sky are now eliminated from playoff contention. They join the Sun, who were knocked out over the weekend.
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