SPOKANE, WASH. – Paige Bueckers has been here before. Here as in March Madness. Here as in high-pressure situations. Even here as in Spokane.
Before UConn, before rocketing into stardom and before her signature braids-into-ponytail hairstyle was developed, Bueckers was in Spokane, playing in Hoopfest, the world’s largest 3×3 tournament and one of the town’s claims to fame. Alongside Washington native Hailey Van Lith, WNBA star Aliyah Boston and former Notre Dame and Virginia player Samantha Brunelle, Bueckers destroyed opponents on an outdoor court, wearing a thick white headband and the smile of a teenager who knows the best is yet to come.
So much has happened to Bueckers since then. As a UConn freshman, Bueckers was named national player of the year. She followed that up with an iconic ESPY Award speech in which she called for support and coverage of Black female athletes, proving herself as an advocate with a deep understanding of the history and injustices of her sport.
Then there were the injuries, including an ACL tear that caused her to miss an entire season. Through it all, Bueckers has built a reputation as a transcendent basketball player. And now, as her final season winds down, Bueckers is adding to her legacy. UConn coach Geno Auriemma isn’t quite ready to build her a statue, but he does understand the magnitude of her performances. Especially because, after all this time, she still finds new ways to impress.
In her last season at UConn, Bueckers has dominated like never before, averaging 19.2 points, 4.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. She also has managed to record the country’s best assist-to-turnover ratio while achieving the ever-elusive 50/40/90 mark (50 percent from the field, 40 percent from the three-point line and 90 percent from the free throw line).
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“She’s doing things that no one’s ever done before,” Auriemma said. “Everything that you all have said about her, that everybody’s written about her, it’s all true. Every part of it.”
But there is one thing she hasn’t done and one thing she had her heart set on when she represented Team USA at Hoopfest all those years ago. Bueckers still wants to win a national championship. She got one step closer Saturday, as the Huskies routed Oklahoma 82-59 in the Sweet Sixteen. Bueckers finished with a career-high 40 points.
“Paige was spectacular,” Auriemma said. “That was as good a game as I’ve seen her play the whole time she’s been here at the most important time.”
Later, he took it back.
“Did I really say that’s the best I’ve seen her play? That came out of my mouth? Well, that’s the most I’ve seen her shoot,” Auriemma said laughing. “And she was really bad defensively, so we can’t just let her off the hook that easily. We still got, hopefully, a couple more games to go before she gets canonized.”
After five years at UConn, Bueckers and Auriemma have developed a rapport that leans heavily on being able to joke and go back and forth. He never is afraid to dish out tough love and sometimes tough talk.
When Oklahoma took an 8-0 lead to start the game, Bueckers stopped the run, scoring seven quick points to help her team take a 9-8 lead. By the end of the first quarter, UConn led 17-12, with Bueckers responsible for 11 of those points. In the second quarter, she cooled and didn’t score. Meanwhile, Oklahoma 6-foot-1 senior guard Payton Verhulst got hot, scoring 13 of her 16 points. Some of those shots came when Bueckers missed her defensive assignments.
Auriemma called a timeout with 4:17 left in the half. He looked directly at Bueckers and called her out. She gave it back. Auriemma immediately subbed in 5-foot-11 senior guard Azzi Fudd, pulling Bueckers.
“That is just an everyday interaction between Coach and Paige,” Bueckers said with a smile. “Him getting on me, him holding me accountable. I did have some mental lapses and some mental mistakes that I can’t have at this point of the season.”
It was more of the same conversation at halftime. But as it turns out, that first quarter was nothing. Bueckers scored 29 points in the final two quarters to get to 40. No UConn player had done that in an NCAA Tournament game. The list of former UConn stars is rife with elite scorers, like Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart, but Bueckers stands alone in the feat.
When Bueckers is in the zone, there is no one better. A deep three as the shot clock expired to put her team up 62-46, a jumper from the elbow and the foul, a fast-break stopping defensive stance against OU 6-foot-4 junior center Raegan Beers. The list of jaw-dropping moments for Bueckers in her team’s Sweet Sixteen win was extensive. And each play was important. Because when Bueckers is on, no one can stop her, and in turn, no one can stop UConn.
When she was growing up, Bueckers dreamed of wearing a UConn uniform and playing for Auriemma. She also dreamed of winning a title. The time left on both of those dreams is dwindling, and Bueckers is playing like it.
“Every day at practice, there’s long stretches of exactly what you saw today,” Auriemma said. “Little by little. it’s dawned on her, I think, that there is no next year, there is no, ‘I can get this anytime I want.’ You’re going to have to get it now or it won’t be available anymore.”
That also means the pressure is on. Auriemma and Bueckers have had many conversations this season about that. He’s been adamant that, no matter what happens in March Madness, who she is and what she has done for UConn will always be more important. But the outside noise is loud and constant. Before the Oklahoma game, Auriemma saw a headline: “Paige Bueckers vs. Oklahoma,” it read.
“Paige can do things during the course of a game that most people can’t do,” Auriemma said. “But she’s certainly not going to win tonight’s game or Monday’s game by herself. And if we lose, it’s not because she lost it. The outside pressure just keeps growing and growing and growing. And then with this performance, people are going to expect 50 on Monday.”
Auriemma is making a point about the unrealistic expectations on Bueckers, but the thing is, 50 points isn’t unrealistic. Not for a player like her. And despite the jokes and sideline spats between the two, he knows how great she is. When Auriemma talks about his star player, he can’t help but smile.
The Huskies could win the national championship or they could lose in the next round, but Auriemma knows that whatever happens, for Bueckers the best is yet to come.
