Dream rookie Te-Hina Paopao scorches Sky with five 3s

That she has.

For the third time in four games, Paopao scored 16 points off the Dream’s bench to tie her career high. This time, though, 15 of those points came from the perimeter, with the remaining one coming from the free-throw line.

“First of all, I can’t get past 16,” Paopao said with a laugh after Sunday’s game. “I think I’m just going to reach 16 from now on.

“But no, I mean, it feels great. I just got to keep shooting the ball and keep trying to make shots and just do like I said, earn the trust of my teammates that I’ll knock it down for them, and I just got to take one practice, one game at a time.”

That mentality, as well as an aggressive mindset, has helped Paopao to rank among the top five players in the WNBA in 3-point shooting percentage. She also leads rookies in 3-point shooting percentage, making 51.7% of her shots.

“The mentality was to make the team,” Paopao said. “But then from that point on, it was just doing what my job is to do, and that’s to make shots and be able to gain trust for my teammates that I’m going to be able to make the shots that they pass to me. So I’m going to keep building on that and just keep building that trust with the team.”

And on Sunday, she earned a lot of trust from her teammates.

In the second quarter, the Dream rookie sank her first 3 off a kick out from veteran center Brittney Griner at the shot clock buzzer. The ball left her hand with 2 seconds on the clock.

Even when the pass is just off, Paopao showed little trouble sinking jumpers. With 4:31 to play in the first half, Paopao caught a low pass in the corner, quickly went up and buried the 3 over the contest of Sky forward Angel Reese.

Just over 90 seconds later, Paopao made her third 3 in the second quarter on a wide-open look in front of the Sky’s bench.

“Well, she’s aggressively seeking her shot,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said after the game. “She’s trying to get open. That’s part of it. Any opportunity somebody turns their back for a second, there’s a long rebound, and they’re no longer attached to you, she’s going to go find an opening where she can get the ball, call for it, and she’s ready to knock it down.

“She’s got a very quick release. So, if you just give her a couple feet, she can get that thing off. And, usually with a couple feet, it doesn’t bother her at all. A little hand in her face, she’s ready. So she’s been playing great. She’s been getting some more minutes and making the most of them.

Paopao didn’t cool off much in the second half, hitting two more much-needed buckets that allowed the Dream to put the Sky away for good.

With 7:35 to play in the game, Paopao hit her fourth 3, dribbling to the win to get a screen. She pulled up and released the shot then backpedaled to halfcourt before the ball even hit the net. It forced the Sky to call timeout and hyped up the sold-out crowd as she walked to the bench.

She made her final triple from the corner of the game off a handoff from Hillmon. Paopao then found Hillmon for a 3 on the very next possession that forced the Sky to take a timeout with the Dream up 84-75.

But while Paopao has shot 70% from deep over the last four games, she has yet to settle on a 3-point celebration.

“I’m still trying to find my celebration, because I be scared I might get scored on defense,” Paopao said. “So, I try to get back on defense as fast as I can.”

With the threat of Paopao’s shot falling from the outside, things continue to look good for the Dream.

“She’s an amazing shooter,” Smesko said. “We’re running some things for her to get shots, although those plays weren’t run particularly well. But, I mean, we want to get her opportunities to get to her shot.

“And then if you’re paying a lot of attention to her and you’re afraid to help off her, then, we got our bigs down low, or Allisha (Gray), Rhy (Rhyne Howard) have more space to work. So, having that extra shooter out there has really been helpful on the offensive end.”