Paige Bueckers: – You are Paige Bookers, leading your team to the Final Four has made your name echo incessantly, Portland, Oregon.
Now, you’re inundated with requests for photos. You have photos to take. You have so many people to hug. At this point, you’re already used to people yelling at you – they want something, expecting you to take a second of your time and push it towards them.
You, 22, are an expert at balancing your desire for privacy with the expectations of the women’s basketball world. After all, you are a star, and stars sign autographs when they enjoy soaking in an ice bath. As you dart across the field, you head straight for the pair of girls whose voices have been calling out your name fervently for the past ten minutes. Your team, Connecticut, defeated USC 80-73 at the Moda Center on Monday night in the Portland Region’s third NCAA Tournament final. You sign Paige Bueckers’ pink jersey number 5. You sign Michael Jordan’s red Chicago Bulls jersey number 23.
You sign sneakers. You sign a black shirt that will probably never be able to prove that you did it. Just by moving around you create 13 cameras and four guards to move around. Your stat line was 28 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks in the third Elite Eight victory of your collegiate career. On Monday you played the full 40 minutes. You also played the full 40 minutes on Saturday when you and your team, after losing six key players to injury, beat Duke.
No wonder you keep hearing your name.
“Today was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life,” Bueckers said later after the Huskies defeated USC’s top player and star freshman JuJu Watkins. “Presently, I reflect on my state a year prior in terms of personal training, and a resurgence of passion for basketball is stirring within me once more. Now I’m here with my teammates and coaching staff, and we’re heading to the Final Four.
A year ago, Bueckers was still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, her second serious injury in eight months. She watched Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese compete for the national title, but she was overshadowed by the explosive growth of the women’s game. But she will now face Clark and Iowa on Friday in Cleveland. The other semifinal will feature South Carolina and North Carolina State. Third seed U-Conn. Let’s see how far this wonderful race can go.
Also Read:Women’s Basketball Superstars Day: Caitlin and the Angel to JuJu and Paige
Bueckers, Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhal didn’t sit down once Monday, and Muhal even picked up her fourth foul in the third quarter. Without so many participants, the Huskies won’t have a chance to rest. Edwards, a senior forward, scored 24 points. As Muhl racked up his fourth foul, Geno Auriemma, the 70-year-old coach of the Huskies, rested both elbows on the scorer’s table and shut his eyes. Thirteen minutes separated them from their record 23rd Final Four appearance. The Huskies were led by nine men.
“I had promised myself I wouldn’t commit a foul,” confessed Muhl, the senior guard. “But I hadn’t promised I wouldn’t end up with four.”
Knowing he couldn’t lose to Mahl, Auriemma replaced Bueckers with Watkins, who finished with 29 points (and 10 rebounds) and broke the NCAA single-season scoring record for a freshman. However, from the standpoint of Watkins and cornerback Mackenzie Forbes’ defense, Watkins and cornerback Mackenzie Forbes’ defense was entirely a team effort. Watkins noted that every time she drove, she felt like there was another U-Conn. A guard is on his way. The Huskies constantly switched and caught the Trojans’ scorers at the defensive end.
In between those efforts, Bueckers battled USC’s big men, then Watkins, and then whoever Auriemma needed him to be. As a freshman in 2021, he transferred to U-Conn after winning every player of the year award. Until the final four. As a sophomore, she led the Huskies to the national championship game, losing to South Carolina. And here, despite persistent knee injuries, he is two wins shy of leading the Huskies since 2016.
“It’s basketball,” freshman guard Ashlyn Shade said. “Each time she steps onto the court, she epitomizes pure greatness.”
“Because every child has had it, I know there is a fear: ‘What if I can’t do this?’ Auriemma said Monday night. “Anyone who tells you it’s not, they’re lying, okay? But the great guys… they think about it and just go out and do what they do. We have some great people at Mount Rushmore. I don’t know if we can accommodate them all, you know? But he just needs to win one national championship.”
Deep in the fourth quarter, U-Conn. Pulling back, Bueckers split a double team, scored a floater, and then immediately ran toward defender Watkins. Breaking the USC press, she somehow kept track of Auriemma’s next challenge. And when the Huskies won, she was the first player to join them in line to shake hands in celebration.
Every opportunity on the basketball court seems to be pre-planned in his head. It is processed at warp speed.
But by following these screaming girls, you – Paige Bueckers – are allowing yourself a little pampering. You take a deep breath. Then, on the other side of the court, more fans are waiting, more people are asking for your attention, you sign another round of autographs. You take someone’s iPhone and take a selfie.
At the tunnel’s summit, a young person calls out, “Paige! See me! I implore you, cast your gaze upon me Inside the tunnel you can finally relax.
Up ahead, on the way to the locker room, you see Andrea Huddy, the Huskies’ athletic director. With only eight fellows healthy, it’s Hoodie who helps keep everyone fresh. So, before you touch the bottom of the hoodie, you will jump up, hovering in the air. Hoodie screams. You look over your shoulder, a big smile on your face.
Once your teammates join you, you’ll be ready to douse Auriemma with water bottles. When you do, some will splurge on the Portland Champion trophy in the corner, which is sitting there next to the refrigerator. Of course, no one wants to damage it, even if your teammates earlier dropped the trophy on the court near the Huskies’ bench. Hope you all get a big win soon.