Tag: Paige Bueckers

Duke will play Connecticut in Sweet 16 of Women’s March Madness

The Blue Devils got through Ohio State in the second round, but now, Duke gets the legendary Connecticut Huskies and star Paige Bueckers.

On the heels of a second-round upset over Ohio State, the Blue Devils have to play the most accomplished women’s basketball program in the country.

Duke will face the Connecticut Huskies in the Sweet 16 on Saturday, March 30.

The Huskies, led by star Paige Bueckers, defeated Syracuse in the second round, a 72-64 victory on Monday evening. Bueckers, the consensus 2021 player of the year as a freshman, scored 32 points on 14/25 shooting.

She added 10 rebounds for a double-double, her second in two tournament games, as well as six assists, four steals, and a block. Bueckers is averaging more than 21 points per game this season.

The two schools haven’t faced off since November 2022 when the Huskies defeated Duke 78-50 on a neutral court in Oregon. Bueckers did not play as she suffered an injury earlier in the season.

Duke has played UConn 13 times in school history, winning just twice. The Blue Devils will look to reverse that trend behind the stellar play of junior Reigan Richardson, who has averaged 26.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game through the tournament thus far.

Tracking the notable women’s basketball players returning in 2024-25, including UConn’s Paige Bueckers

Because of the NCAA’s COVID-era ruling, players from the 2020-21 class have an extra year of eligibility.

As the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season winds down, we’re going to get announcements – perhaps on senior nights, or in the forms of social media graphics – of seniors announcing whether they will use their extra year of eligibility.

Because of the NCAA’s rule during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-21 season did not count towards a player’s eligibility clock. So, anyone who played that season has had the chance to play an extra season of college basketball. This has created an overflowing transfer portal, older teams, and to some degree, increased parity in the sport of women’s basketball.

The 2020-21 freshman class was a star-studded one, and the final class that will benefit from this rule. UConn’s Paige Bueckers has already announced her return, while decisions loom for other superstar players like Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, LSU’s Angel Reese, Stanford’s Cameron Brink and North Carolina’s Deja Kelly. Don’t be surprised if some of these players decide not to enter the WNBA Draft. We saw several of the game’s top players return to school last season.

With this list, we’ll keep track of all the players who have publicly declared that they will return to women’s college basketball for another season in the 2024-25 campaign:

Updated: March 2

Paige Bueckers isn’t going pro quite yet, will play 2024-25 season for UConn

Head coach Geno Auriemma learned about Paige Bueckers returning to school at the same time as everyone else in the arena.

On Friday night, University of Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers announced she’s returning to school for the 2024-25 season and forgoing entering the 2024 WNBA draft. During the senior night ceremony, Bueckers made the announcement after a Huskies win.

“I know everybody wants me to address the elephant in the room,” Bueckers said. “Unfortunately, this will not be my last senior night here at UConn.”

Head coach Geno Auriemma learned about Bueckers’ return at the same time as everyone else in the arena. However, he was not surprised that she would return.

“Paige is very, very bad at making decisions. When we were recruiting her, I had to threaten her because she couldn’t decide,” Auriemma said.

Bueckers explained why she was making the return.

“Just the family camaraderie here, just loving it here, loving my teammates, loving my coaches, me not having the four years that I planned on, not being able to play as much,” Bueckers said when asked by SNY about her decision. “I just feel like I’m not done yet here. I feel like God is still writing my story here. I’m just blessed to be a part of this program, and I never want it to end.”

Bueckers was projected to be a top 2024 WNBA draft pick, so teams will need to reprioritize their choices. The draft will be held on April 15.

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Even Geno Auriemma was surprised that Paige Bueckers is returning to UConn next season

And yes, Geno Auriemma will be returning to the sidelines to coach Bueckers and the rest of the Huskies.

Paige Bueckers grabbed the attention of every women’s basketball fan Friday night when she announced that she wouldn’t enter the WNBA Draft and would instead return to UConn next season.

Bueckers battled injuries earlier in her career for the Huskies, missing a chunk of the 2021-22 season and all of the 2022-23 campaign with lower body ailments. She’s proving this season though that she’s still one of the top players in the country – and a highly sought-after pro prospect – by averaging 20.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Bueckers is one of just four players nationally putting up an average nightly stat line like that.

The UConn guard made her announcement to the crowd at Gampel Pavilion on Friday night before the Huskies beat Georgetown. It was senior night in Storrs, Connecticut, and Bueckers was honored. She grabbed the mic and said:

“Unfortunately, this will not be my last senior night.”

That’s only unfortunate news for WNBA teams with a top three pick in this upcoming draft. For women’s college basketball fans, it’s awesome news.

And fans found out the same time that UConn coach Geno Auriemma did.

The 69-year-old coach – who has won more national titles than anyone else in the sport – then joked about how Bueckers returning related to his own decision to come back and continue to coach the Huskies:

As long as Bueckers is on the court and Auriemma is on the sidelines, UConn will be a force to be reckoned with. Expect them to be among the preseason favorites again next year.

Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo on Wooden Award Midseason Watch List

Another honor for the freshman.

Notre Dame’s [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] continues to show what she’s made of, which is something very special. In fact, she’s so special that she’s starting to get national attention as a freshman. That includes consideration for the Wooden Award, given to the national player of the year. Yes, Hidalgo has made the award’s midseason watch list.

Hidalgo is one of three freshmen on the 25-player list, the others being USC’s JuJu Watkins and LSU’s Mikaylah Williams. Any of them winning it would mean only the second freshman to win the award since it first was given in 2004. Paige Bueckers of UConn won it in 2021.

Defending award winner Caitlin Clark of Iowa also is on the list and figures to at least be in the running until the very end. Four other ACC players were named to the list, too. Needless to say, Hidalgo faces some stiff competition, but it’s great that she’s gotten this far.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Paige Bueckers is seemingly in no rush to declare for the WNBA draft

UConn star Paige Bueckers is all in on her teammates, and that means weighing her future in the WNBA.

Paige Bueckers is considered to be potentially one of the top picks in the WNBA draft should she choose to declare, but the hoops star recently insinuated that she might have unfinished business at UConn.

Paige Bueckers is a star who has become a driving force at UConn under head coach Geno Auriemma. However, during her college basketball career her team has faced some truly unfortunate headwinds with injuries.

This year has been no different. The team has endured injuries to Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin, Jana El Alfy, Ayanna Patterson and Caroline Ducharme. Several of those have been season-ending.

On Tuesday, when asked about whether or not she had talked to Auriemma about playing another year, Bueckers made light of all the injuries, saying that her coach likely wants her to stay now.

However, what she said next when asked about potentially going to the WNBA may reveal where her heart truly lies.

Hoops fans ripped an unhinged hot take about UConn’s Paige Bueckers

Imagine being LOUD and WRONG at the same time. This is unhinged behavior.

Hot takes are not an unusual thing for the internet. It’s kind of its thing. However, some hot takes go too far and must be addressed, like when a sports branding consultant recently claimed that UConn star Paige Bueckers was not a household name.

UConn’s Paige Bueckers suffered an ACL injury during the 2022-2023 season, but true to form (and head coach Geno Auriemma’s prediction), she’s back this season and playing lights out basketball as expected.

Her impressive play against ranked teams is turning heads (especially around WNBA evaluators) amid a season where UConn has dealt with several gut-wrenching injuries.

So, it’s unsurprising that Jay “Chuck” Fields, a sports branding consultant, would be commenting, as many fans do, on women’s basketball and one of its biggest stars.

The problem is that Fields LOUDLY and INCORRECTLY said that Bueckers wasn’t a household name, alluding to the notion that she is not an Angel Reese or Caitlin Clark level of player. (By the way, if you’re going to insult someone, at least be grammatically correct.)

Women’s basketball fans responded (with the receipts!) and promptly roasted Fields. Please enjoy this content.

Hannah Hidalgo is USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year

Congrats, Hannah!

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] only has played college basketball for a month, but the Notre Dame freshman phenom already is making an impact. She’s the nation’s leader in steals (6.0 a game) and one of its top scorers (23.6 points a game). But that doesn’t begin to describe what she’s done overall this year.

Hidalgo has won the prestigious USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year award for how well she did in international play this season. During the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup, she averaged 10.7 points and 5.4 assists a game to help the U.S. win the gold medal. Joni Taylor, her coach from that tournament, said it best:

“Hannah Hidalgo is a name you will not forget.”

In winning this award, Hidalgo is joining elite company in more ways than one. She is only the fourth player to win it before beginning her collegiate career, joining Paige Bueckers, Brianna Stewart and Janelle Bailey.

Many women’s basketball legends, some of which remain active and others are enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, have won this award since it was first given out in 1980. These include Diana Taurasi, Teresa Edwards, Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley, Cheryl Miller, Katrina McClain, A’ja Wilson, Maya Moore, Tina Charles, Katie Smith, Natalie Williams, Ruthie Bolton, Chamique Holdsclaw, Seimone Augustus and Lynette Woodard.

If that list is any indication, Hidalgo is on her way to becoming not only an Irish legend but a legend of the sport. It probably wouldn’t surprise her either because she indicated such when Fighting Irish Wire asked her about it after the Irish’s win over Lafayette:

“No, I’m not surprised at all. I think I know what God has blessed me with, and so, it’s a lot easier when I have teammates like the ones that I do. That makes the game just so much easier.”

Here’s to the latest of what should be many more honors for someone who’s just getting started.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

5 storylines to watch this women’s college basketball season: Can LSU repeat?

Can LSU repeat? And how competitive will the Pac-12 be in its final season?

The long offseason is over. Women’s college basketball is back.

It’s been seven months since the Final Four in Dallas, where Iowa ended South Carolina’s perfect season and LSU triumphed over a Virginia Tech team making its national semifinal debut. In the championship game, the Tigers contained Caitlin Clark just enough to win their first-ever national title, and the fourth overall for coach Kim Mulkey.

Some stars like Aliyah Boston and Diamond Miller went off to the WNBA, while others like Elizabeth Kitley and Celeste Taylor came back to college for one more year. Other offseason headlines were powered by the transfer portal and coaching changes.

Here’s a few storylines that you need to pay attention to as the season gets underway.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzM55pnObX7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

UConn star Paige Bueckers will miss the 2022-23 season after tearing her left ACL

This is devastating news.

While the summer winds down and the kids are getting ready to head back to school, the excitement of college sports is growing. But in our anticipation of what’s to come, we sometimes forget how unforgiving the grind of high-level sports can be for the athlete.

On Wednesday, we were reminded.

Out of nowhere, an afternoon announcement from the official UConn Women’s Basketball Twitter informed the basketball world standout junior guard Paige Bueckers would miss the upcoming 2022-23 season after tearing her ACL in her left knee on Monday. The injury came during a pickup game, according to the team.

This is obviously a huge blow for the Huskies’ basketball program, which impacts their season and the lay of the college basketball landscape. However, this news is just so much more difficult to stomach for Bueckers.

Of course, Bueckers missed more than half of UConn’s games during her sophomore season (2021-22) after undergoing surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear and tibial plateau fracture in her left knee. She returned in time for the end-of-season tournaments, which included a run to the NCAA championship game.

Another major injury to that left knee has to be incredibly draining for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award winner.

Bueckers will be eligible for the 2023 WNBA Draft, and there’s plenty of time between now and then to speculate whether or not she’ll forgo her remaining college eligibility or return to school. But such a topic isn’t really all that important at the moment. Not when there’s genuine concern for Bueckers’ immediate career.

Let’s all hope that Paige undergoes successful surgery on Friday and makes a full recovery.

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