Paige Bueckers is one game away from her ultimate Connecticut dream.
As she and the Huskies demolished No.1 overall seed UCLA 85-51 in the national semifinal Friday, UConn securing its spot in the championship game.
The Huskies looked like champions in waiting, and their rout of UCLA demonstrated just how determined they are to end their nine-year drought of an NCAA title.
For Bueckers, the buck stops on Sunday — unlike her previous editions of heartbreak, there will be an opportunity for revenge.
She is playing her final collegiate game before she declares for the WNBA draft, so Sunday’s final will be her last chance to secure a national championship.
In her way is South Carolina, with the title game a rematch of the 2022 tournament final that the Gamecocks won.
UConn will be helped in that game by the fact that they blew out South Carolina already this season on their home court back on February 16th.
The Huskies won the contest by a score of 87-58, but they will be smart enough to know that the Gamecocks are too well-coached to let that embarrassing defeat happen again.
This was the message Bueckers delivered to her team in the locker room after Friday’s win.
“Together this whole tournament, but I think we still got another level to tap into,” Bueckers said to her team.
“And that’s what we say before. And we don’t need any extra incentive. The game earlier in the season means nothing. Like, it’s 0-0, the record is 0-0, and we’re both trying to go 1-0.
“So get some sleep tonight, get some rest, because the game is early on Sunday. So we’ll need to be rested and recovered. And we have 40 minutes to give our entire souls and bodies.”
Such poise and perspective from the 23-year-old saw her praised for her leadership by those online.
“This is a LEADER,” one fan was quick to write on X.
While Bueckers is the heartbeat of her team, UConn’s dominance against UCLA was initiated more by her teammates.
Specifically, Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd combined for 41 points, while Bueckers had a quiet night by her standards with 16 points on 7-for-17 shooting.
“Sarah Strong so tough!” WNBA superstar and 2023 NCAA champion Angel Reese wrote on X, hailing the freshman’s performance.
Although it’s that depth around Bueckers that gives UConn their best shot at winning their 12th championship and first since 2016, which is something head coach Geno Auriemma believes also.
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“Going into this weekend, we felt we had the best opportunity [to win a championship] that we could have in the last five, six years, seven years, maybe,” the 70-year-old who is coaching his 40th season at UConn said after the game.
“And that it wasn’t relying all on one person and that person had to play (an) exceptionally outstanding game in order for us to win it all.”
Friday’s game against UCLA was effectively over at half-time.
But against South Carolina on Sunday, Bueckers and UConn will have to go the distance to become the new national champion.
