Second -placed UCONN HUSKIES have entered this year’s women NCAA Tournament with high expectations.
Huskies guard Paige Bueckers’ 34 points led the team to win Monday over the South Dakota country in the second round in Storrs. The 91-57 victory struck the Uconn card for Sweet 16, where Husky will meet Number 3 Oklahoma.
The game also marked the last time Bueckers took the ground to the Gampel Pavilion at UCONN Uniform.
Bueckers addressed the faithful moments of Huskies after the game on Monday.
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UCONN HUSKIES Council of Paige Buueckers (5) talks to the audience after defeating Jackrabbits State South Dakota in Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., March 24, 2025. (David Butler II/Imagen Images)
“That means all,” Buueckers said as she stood in the central court, holding the microphone. “We started playing here with the cards of cardboard as fans, so we just went through it and then experienced the other side, which was amazing. The atmosphere was amazing. You can’t hear the time, you can’t hear the offenses, you can’t even hear when the whistle blows just how loud they are and how much support they show.
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“It was a dream to play here, a dream to wear this uniform, a dream to play in this environment. As you still want it to continue to happen more times, just take advantage of every opportunity you have and never take it for granted.”
UCONN HUSKIES CEO PAGE Bueckers goes upstairs after defeating Jackrabbits in the country of South Dakota in Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., March 24, 2025. (David Butler II/Imagen Images)
Victory over the South Dakota State also secured 31. While UCONN had a slow start on Monday, Bueckers scored the last 10 points of Huskies in the first quarter.
“It’s amazing to look,” said Ucon’s guard Azzi Fudd. “You are almost sorry for the second team when Paige is closed. You can’t do anything to stop her. No matter what she shoots, the ball will come in. It was fun to watch and see what she was doing.”
UCONN HUSKIES The guard Paige Buueckers, 5, makes its last basket in Harry A. Gampel Pavilion against South Dakota State in Storrs, Conn., March 24, 2025. (David Butler II/Imagen Images)
It was not the lightest five years for Bueckers. She missed one season and was limited to 17 games in another. Has the last opportunity to win the national championship before leaving Wnbaprobably as a total number 1 in the draft.
“When you are in high school, it seems so easy, you know? I’m going to UCONN and I win the national championship,” longtime head coach Uconna Auriemma Geno said. “The reality affects, and you realize that it is incredibly difficult to do it. So, I do not want anyone to feel less than full when they go here if they do not have the national championship.
“She put herself in the place that if she left here, she would not win, she would feel less than a lot. I don’t feel like that, as I said, for the sake of things no one did before. She had to do a lot for us all the time she was here, and she was rewarded. Everything you all said about her, it was all written about her.
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There will be a time when Buueckers will think about the memories of her playing time in Connecticut. She was not ready to consider victory on Monday as the last chapter of her Uconn career.
“I’m sure we’ll have more time to think about when the season is over,” Buueckers said. “We are just super -focused on the present, but obviously simply extremely grateful, and you can’t really make it in words how much this place meant to me. I am forever in charge and has become my second home.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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