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At just 23 years old, Paige Bueckers have already cemented themselves as a women’s basketball power. She is the fastest player in UConn history and has reached 2,000 career points. She was the first freshman to win a wooden award and a Nice Miss Trophy. And it is widely predicted that next month she will be number one in the 2025 WNBA draft.
But so far, one honor has escaped the Bueckers: the NCAA title. The Minnesota native came to UConn with all his heart to win the national championship, but her husky is consistently ranked among the most frightening teams in the NCAA, but they couldn’t grab that top spot.
But in a way, the continued efforts have linked the team more closely. “Players, coaches, support staff, training staff, we are all very close,” Bookers told herself in an interview with Zoom in February. “When you’re going through something with someone else, it’s a place where you can lean on each other through good times and bad times for strength, guidance. They’re always there for you.”
At this year’s tournament on March 22nd, the Husky will win or lose in the last crazy March attempt to chip off for the first time. “It’s like lifting weight off your shoulder,” she says.
Five years after she joined the Husky in 2020, she says the “plan” is to move on despite technically remaining one season of eligibility (due to ACL tears that sidelined her for the entire 2022-2023 season). This time last year, there was far more uncertainty about her path. The Bueckers were widely expected to make ’23-’24 last season. He then sent shockwaves into the world of basketball at the older ceremony in February 2024 when he decided to stay at UConn. ESPN It has been reported.
“The thing I want to stay was because I missed a half season due to injuries, so I want to make up for it and get back to the season,” Bueckers said. But now she’s ready to turn the pages. “I was here for five years. It took me longer than my usual four-year college career, so I felt the time was right,” she explains. “I had a great time here at UCONN. It’s a great journey. It has grown me as a person like a player. I enjoy relationships, experiences, bonds. But at some point, the journey has to come to an end.”
The Bueckers miss her teammates and the wider Husky family, but she also wants to continue learning and growing at the WNBA, including Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and other stars. “As a little kid, I go to the Minnesota Lynx games, dream of being in their shoes, dreaming of being in the WNBA. I’m definitely not there yet, but God is where I want to be,” she says. “I have the opportunity to play in a league I dreamed of coming in, [along] With the players I respect, it makes you really excited for the future. ”
