Minneapolis (AP) - Paige Bueckers admired the Minnesota Lynx a while ago, cheering for each of the four WNBA tournaments, which played a small role in her promotion, becoming the first overall draft pick in the draft last month.

Beating Lynx is probably another story for the Bueckers, who lost twice to Minnesota in the first five days of the season, made her debut in Dallas’ WNBA and her first home-school game as a pro.

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After 12 points, 10 assists and three steals on Wednesday night’s 85-81 loss to a Lynx team, winning a win with another title last year, Bueckers expressed appreciation and optimism for her fledgling career and a little relief to get it out of the way for the first time.

"It's really cool to get home, it's a great experience, but it's even more important what we're trying to build and what we're trying to do from the game to the game," Bueckers said.

Bueckers enjoyed a huge growth on the courts in the Twin Cities area as she traveled through the youth level and was less than 10 miles from downtown Minneapolis, where she returned to Target Center where she resumed her action at Target Center — she won the state high school championship and later competed with Connecticut in the NCAA Championship Game.

Like many young girls near Minnesota in the last decade, she adores Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen as the core quarter led Lynx to four titles alongside Sylvia Fowles. She has a poster on the wall of the bedroom in Whalen, who is now an employee of Brunson's assistant and head coach Cheryl Reeve.

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“They are everything I’m eager to be,” Bueckers said before the game. "They definitely gave me something to work and appreciate. It's very important to be able to see what you want to be, so I think, growing, that's a big part of what I want to be in this league."

Bueckers, with dozens of family members, old friends and former teammates, made it reality on Wednesday. After that, she said, she was so focused on every property that she really felt the familiarity of the arena, but admitted the gravity of the moment she had once longed to be one of those performers.

“You try to take everything as a perspective,” Bueckers said. “Seeing all the little girls and people in the stands and realizing that it was you about 10 or 15 years ago, you would never think how lucky you were to be able to play in this league.”

Apparently, there is a learning curve that is the first overall draft pick to rebuild the team, with only three returning players last season.

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In 35 games Wednesday, the Bueckers scored 13-13 on the floor. She finally scored with a three-pointer against Lynx and his stingy defensive score later in the second quarter. However, her death was the same as her hustle and bustle. She grabbed a long-term defensive rebound with a fierce attitude in the third quarter, causing Bobcats guard Karlie Samuelson to knock her down on the court as they collided. Reeve screamed, "No, don't foul again!" and immediately pulled Samuelson out of the game.

"It's crazy, the one I did, I missed those," Bux said, shaking his head. “But I’m just focusing on the next shot, just trying to influence the game in different ways for the win, whether it’s a hit or a missed shot.”

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