UConn crushes South Carolina for record-extending 12th NCAA women's title
UConn dominated South Carolina 82-59 to claim a record-extending 12th national championship in NCAA women's basketball on Sunday, the first title for the team since 2016.
A dream showdown between two of the sport's marquee programs quickly turned sour for defending champion South Carolina against a suffocating UConn defense, as the Huskies ended their longest title drought since their first triumph in 1995.
The Gamecocks were unable to slow down freshman Sarah Strong, who put up a double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds, and guard Azzi Fudd, who added another 24 points and was later named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
"You just never know if you'll be back in this situation again," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma, the winningest coach in college basketball who became emotional in his postgame remarks. "We kept hanging in there and hanging in there."
The Huskies had a 10-point lead through two quarters after a clutch three-pointer from guard Ashlynn Shade to close out the first half, in which UConn sharpshooter Fudd led the way with 13 points.
They heaped on more pressure in the second half, and South Carolina's hopes of a third title in four years evaporated as the Huskies were up by 32 points with four minutes left in the game.
The win gave guard Paige Bueckers, the presumed first pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, the accolade she craved most in her final collegiate game, and she wept as she stepped off the court and embraced Auriemma.
"Unreal," said Bueckers, who put up 17 points on Sunday after overcoming injuries to become one of the collegiate game's biggest names. "Just so much gratitude for everything this program has meant to me.
"I can't even put into words what's happening right now."
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Japan Times
09-05-2025
- Japan Times
Paige Bueckers and Wings to measure success in terms of growth
Asked on Thursday what she's enjoyed most about being a member of the Dallas Wings, Paige Bueckers said the easy answer was, "everything." "Just the people here," Bueckers said during a conference call. "Coach Chris (Koclanes) talked about how obviously finding success is important, but you want to find great people first. I think they've done a great job from top to bottom finding people who are easy to work with, easy to work for." Bueckers is gearing up for the start of her WNBA career, which officially begins May 16 when the Wings host none other than Bueckers' hometown team, the Minnesota Lynx, on opening night. The UConn star and No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft could play a major role in revitalizing a Dallas franchise that missed the playoffs in 2024 with a 9-31 record. Bueckers said the city and franchise have been welcoming in the few short weeks she's been in town since being drafted April 15. "It's been fun getting to know new people and build new relationships within the organization," she said. Bueckers was brought into an franchise that hasn't won a WNBA title since 2008, when it was known as the Detroit Shock. But turning around a team that just posted its worst winning percentage in 13 years starts with a single step, and Bueckers sees her growth as a player tied to the growth of the organization around her. "Success, it looks like being a great teammate, being a great leader, trying to get better every single day," Bueckers said. "Lots of learning, lots of asking questions. And just being here, being present with the team. We're all trying to grow, we're all trying to get better. ... We're setting the foundation for what we want to look like in the future, so success is being our best selves every single day." Bueckers also enters the WNBA one year after Caitlin Clark took the league by storm, amassing a bevy of fans and detractors alike. As back-to-back No. 1 draft picks, they're bound to draw comparisons to one another, but Bueckers said in a recent interview that those "narrative-driven" assessments don't paint the full picture, as they don't play similar styles despite both being guards. Bueckers will share a backcourt with veteran Wings shooting guard Arike Ogunbowale, who has averaged 20.6 points and 3.9 assists per game in her six-year career in Dallas. Ogunbowale called Bueckers one of the best players to come out of the college game. "It's been fun these last couple weeks playing with her, and it's only going to continue to get better, but I'm excited about the future," Ogunbowale said. There's a new coach at the top of the food chain in Koclanes, who replaced Latricia Trammell after serving as an assistant coach for Southern California in 2023-24. "We're trying not to skip any steps," Koclanes said Thursday. "We're talking a lot about the balance of patience, and that goes to talk about our connections on and off the floor, and our relationships, to have patience. "You don't want to force anything — those are going to grow over time — and at the same time, having urgency. ... It's always a balance, but I'm super encouraged by this team and the way they're treating each other and respect each other and how it's all coming together early."
Japan Times
14-04-2025
- Japan Times
Paige Bueckers: A basketball star Is born
On April 6, University of Connecticut basketball player Paige Bueckers achieved what she set out to do when she joined the team almost five years ago: Win an NCAA championship. After being sidelined by injuries for nearly two seasons, Bueckers, a 23-year-old point guard, led the Huskies to a blowout victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks, earning UConn its 12th NCAA women's basketball title and becoming the school's top point scorer in the women's tournament in the process. For some, the win would be a star-making moment. But Bueckers — whom the Dallas Wings are expected to select first overall in the 2025 WNBA draft Monday — was already a star by then, both on and off the court. In December, she became the first college athlete to have her own Nike player-edition shoe, the Paige Bueckers G.T. Hustle 3. She was also the first college athlete to sign a name, image and likeness deal with Gatorade. According to on3 and SponsorUnited, both of which track sponsorship and other deals for college athletes, Bueckers is the third most valuable woman in college sports, has the second largest social media following and the highest engagement from her followers. "It's so surreal,' Bueckers said of UConn's championship win in an interview Wednesday. "It hasn't really sunk in yet.' She was dressed in a lavender Nike sweatsuit, and her long vanilla-blond hair was neatly cascading down her back. Earlier that day, she had been interviewed on the "Today' show; later, Bueckers would head to a taping of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.' "It's like working on good fumes right now,' she said. "You're so amped up and so excited based on what just happened.' She added that she did not want the attention she had received this season to overshadow the success of the Huskies as a team and of players such as Sarah Strong, a freshman UConn forward who scored 22 points and had 15 rebounds in the final against South Carolina. Bueckers' profile has risen amid a significant era for women's basketball. Last year's NCAA women's tournament received more viewers than the men's tournament did, and the WNBA's regular season in 2024 surged in viewership compared with previous years' audiences. The sport's growth has been driven in part by other star newcomers such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, but Bueckers' success has also stood out. Nobody Beats Her 'Rizz' Fans and former coaches alike say that is partly because of her "rizz' — or charisma — a quality palpable in her on-court appearances. It is also evident in the TikTok videos of Bueckers and her teammates dancing, which often travel far and wide, and in her off-court style, which is the subject of dedicated fan accounts on Instagram. Her confidence comes partly from her faith, Bueckers said on a video call in March, a couple weeks before the NCAA final. It was a rest day for the Huskies, and she had slept until 11 a.m. She had gone to a sauna and shot 100 free throws before the call; afterward, she had a massage appointment. Bueckers, who grew up outside Minneapolis, described her faith as a major part of her identity, which has also been shaped by her family. Her parents, Amy Dettbarn and Bob Bueckers, divorced when she was a toddler, and Bueckers was raised mostly by her father. She has three half siblings, including a 12-year-old half brother, Drew, whose mother is Black. "Drew doesn't leave her hip,' Bob Bueckers said figuratively, adding that Paige Bueckers had been a role model to all of her siblings. Bueckers was raised Catholic but now attends a church that she characterized as nondenominational. Her faith, she explained, has helped her be more decisive. "I know that whatever decision I'm going to make is going to be the right one, and it's going to turn out the right way,' she said. Has Bueckers, who works with stylist Brittany Hampton, decided on a look for Monday's WNBA draft? In fact, Hampton said, Bueckers is planning to wear several. "Her draft day is her opulence moment,' the stylist said. "It's going to be power dressing for sure.' Hampton, 36, said to expect "liquid rhinestone cascades,' "embellishments' and "bold elegance.' For last year's draft, which Bueckers attended as the guest of former UConn teammates, she wore a Louis Vuitton ensemble of a white vest, shirt and trousers. A TikTok video of her showing it off received comments including "GIRL GOT DRIPPP,' "The fit is GIVINGGG' and "Paige A Whole Vibe.' Those types of reactions are what Bueckers aims for with her style. "It gets people thinking, like, 'What is this girl doing?'' she said. "And that's what fashion is all about.' She takes inspiration from WNBA players such as Natasha Cloud, Kahleah Copper and Sue Bird, who recently retired. "They're all people who have their own sense of fashion, and they're not conformed to anything that society thinks they should be,' Bueckers said. "They can wear heels one day, and loafers or sneakers the next.' Being fluid like that is important to Bueckers, whose style has been covered by both Vogue and GQ. "I want to be here, be there, be everywhere,' as she put it. "Masculine, feminine, crop tops, baggy clothes. I don't want to put myself in a box.' Nor does she want others to. "Why do women have to wear dresses?' she asked rhetorically. "I can dress like a boy if I want to. What even is dressing like a boy?' Bueckers' appetite for taking big fashion swings has a lot to do with her being "crazy confident' and "super swaggy,' Hampton said. When she is styling Bueckers, she added, her go-to brands include Gallery Department, Rhude, Nahmias and Acne Studios. Hampton has also introduced Bueckers to emerging designers, such as Kwame Adusei in Los Angeles, and has helped her develop an appreciation for luxury labels - and for good tailors. When Bueckers initially tried on the Louis Vuitton ensemble she wore to last year's WNBA draft, Hampton said, it had yet to be tailored. "She sent me photos,' Hampton recalled. "It was the funniest thing. It was just this massive suit. She looked like Steve Harvey in it.' Smooth On and Off the Court Connor Jordan, a college basketball fan, described Bueckers as having "steez,' a term for people whose style telegraphs as effortless and innate. Jordan, a 30-year-old fly fishing guide in Driggs, Idaho, said Bueckers had a similar smoothness on the court. "She's graceful to watch,' Jordan said. Mark Bodin, another basketball follower, described Bueckers' style of play as team-oriented and less aggressive than some of her peers'. "She doesn't antagonize,' he said. "She doesn't taunt anybody.' Both are reasons "she's so likable,' added Bodin, 62, who lives in Andover, Vermont, and is president of a regional bank. Tara Starks, who coached Bueckers' Amateur Athletic Union basketball team, has known her since she was a young teen. She pointed to Bueckers' appearance at the 2021 ESPY Awards as a breakout moment off the court. After receiving the award for best college athlete in women's sports, Bueckers, then 19 and a sophomore at UConn, mentioned in her acceptance speech how Black female athletes were overlooked. "They don't get the media coverage that they deserve,' she said onstage. "They've given so much to the sport, the community and society as a whole, and their value is undeniable.' Starks, who is Black, said the speech demonstrated how "special' Bueckers was and how she "doesn't necessarily care about what you or anybody else thinks.' Alyssa Williams, a 17-year-old high school basketball player in Nashville, Tennessee, remembered watching Bueckers at the ESPYs that night and, as a Black athlete, feeling seen. "Sometimes, we do get overlooked, and for her to have the courage to speak up about that made me happy,' Williams said. "I was like, 'Yeah, that's my Paige.'' Starks recalled another moment she observed Bueckers' confidence: at a barbecue in the backyard of Starks' home in Hopkins, Minnesota, when a 14-year-old Bueckers emphatically rapped every word of "Dreams and Nightmares' by Meek Mill, along with Starks' daughter and their friends. "Paige always thought she had more rhythm than anybody in the room,' Starks said. "She always thought she was fresh, and that's what makes her unique.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times © 2025 The New York Times Company
Japan Times
07-04-2025
- Japan Times
UConn crushes South Carolina for record-extending 12th NCAA women's title
UConn dominated South Carolina 82-59 to claim a record-extending 12th national championship in NCAA women's basketball on Sunday, the first title for the team since 2016. A dream showdown between two of the sport's marquee programs quickly turned sour for defending champion South Carolina against a suffocating UConn defense, as the Huskies ended their longest title drought since their first triumph in 1995. The Gamecocks were unable to slow down freshman Sarah Strong, who put up a double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds, and guard Azzi Fudd, who added another 24 points and was later named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. "You just never know if you'll be back in this situation again," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma, the winningest coach in college basketball who became emotional in his postgame remarks. "We kept hanging in there and hanging in there." The Huskies had a 10-point lead through two quarters after a clutch three-pointer from guard Ashlynn Shade to close out the first half, in which UConn sharpshooter Fudd led the way with 13 points. They heaped on more pressure in the second half, and South Carolina's hopes of a third title in four years evaporated as the Huskies were up by 32 points with four minutes left in the game. The win gave guard Paige Bueckers, the presumed first pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, the accolade she craved most in her final collegiate game, and she wept as she stepped off the court and embraced Auriemma. "Unreal," said Bueckers, who put up 17 points on Sunday after overcoming injuries to become one of the collegiate game's biggest names. "Just so much gratitude for everything this program has meant to me. "I can't even put into words what's happening right now."
