Women’s college basketball season tips off today with more than 100 games.
Paige Buckers is entering her fifth and final year at the University of Connecticut, and in early October, the Huskies announced that they had sold out their season ticket packages for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when Diana Taurasi won a national championship as a senior.
Expectations are higher than ever for her this season, as she’s projected to be the number one pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft. This year’s draft was the most-watched in league history, with Caitlin Clark going first, Cameron Brink second, Kamilla Cardoso third, and Angel Reese seventh.
Bueckers Eyes Top Spot for next WNBA Draft
Last season, Caitlin Clark led the Iowa Hawkeyes to their second consecutive national championship game, losing both times to players who are now with Chicago Sky – in 2023 to Angel Reese and LSU, and this year to Kamilla Cardoso and the South Carolina Gamecocks.
This season, Bueckers is expected to have games like the one yesterday, she scored a game-high 27 points on an impressive 12-of-14 shooting, adding nine rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in just 27 minutes.
Bueckers will try to make people forget about those who are gone to the WNBA and make a name for herself, of course aiming for the National Championship which is set to be on April 2025.
Bueckers has amassed numerous accolades throughout her collegiate career, including becoming the only freshman ever to win the AP Player of the Year award in 2021, beating out current Indian Fever Rookie Of The Year Caitlin Clark.
This year, Buckers was also nominated for an ESPY Award in the “Best Comeback Athlete” category alongside Joe Flacco, Zion Williamson and winner Simone Biles, the Olympic gymnast who became the most decorated American gymnast of all time with an impressive 11 Olympic medals.
Paige Bueckers so far in College
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This season is pivotal for Bueckers, a highly talented player whose career has been plagued by injuries. She underwent ankle surgery her freshman year, required knee surgery her sophomore season, and tore her ACL in 2022, sidelining her for the entire 2022-23 season.
Now 23, with four college seasons behind her, Bueckers is looking to secure her first national title before transitioning to the WNBA.
As a freshman, she led UConn to the Final Four and set the school record for assists. However, she missed most of her sophomore season with a left knee injury, but still managed to lead her team to the national championship game, where they lost to South Carolina.
Her junior season was cut short by a torn ACL. Bueckers bounced back last season, earning unanimous first-team All-American honors and leading the Huskies to the Final Four, where they lost a close game to Caitlin Clark’s team, 71-69.
