Uncasville, CT — Paige Bueckers closed her Big East career the way she started it—undefeated.
The UConn senior led the Huskies to a 70-50 victory over Creighton in the Big East championship game on Monday, securing the program’s 30th conference title, the most in Division I history, and extending its tournament win streak to 12.
Bueckers, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player for a record third time, finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals. She hit three 3-pointers and converted all seven free throws.
“It’s very cool. It’s hard to do something that’s never been done at UConn before,” Bueckers said. “I feel like everything’s been accomplished, so I’m grateful and blessed. But it’s really a team achievement, a team award.”
Her career conference record now stands at a flawless 66-0.
“For her to be able to constantly come up with these kind of performances, time and time again, she just has that thing that those kinds of players have,” coach Geno Auriemma said.
The next time Bueckers steps on the court at Mohegan Sun Arena, it will be as a professional.
The 2021 national player of the year has an extra year of eligibility but confirmed this is her final season.
She is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA Draft, where the Dallas Wings hold the top selection. Wings personnel watched from courtside as Bueckers dominated the weekend.
She accepted her trophy with little fanfare before celebrating with teammates and signing autographs for fans who lingered long after the game.
The moment was bittersweet. “There’s an emphasis on me having fun during this last postseason run, just enjoying it, just embracing it,” Bueckers said. “I love playing with this team. I love playing at UConn. I love playing in these environments.”
Auriemma, now in his 40th season, won his first Big East tournament title before Bueckers was born in 2001.
He now has 30, a mark no other Division I program has reached. “The road to these tournaments, it looks easy because sometimes we have a tendency to make it look easier than it really is,” Auriemma said. “But the amount of work that goes into what we try to do and how we do it, the reward that you get is being able to play in this game and win a game like this.”
Bueckers led a loaded roster that includes Azzi Fudd, who added 13 points, and freshman Sarah Strong, who posted three consecutive double-doubles during the tournament.
On Monday, Strong finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, six steals, and three blocks.
Auriemma credited the team’s success to its culture and expectations. “We have a belief system in our program that this is the expectation,” he said. “The higher you set expectations, the closer you get to achieving those. And we have tremendously high expectations every year.”
With a healthier and deeper roster than in recent seasons, UConn looks poised for a serious national title run.
The program has not won an NCAA championship since 2016 but is again a top contender.
“We don’t have quite the experience that some of those guys [last season] had, but what we do have is the ability that if the game’s not going in our direction, that we can change it,” Auriemma said.
“That doesn’t mean we’re going to change it, but we have the opportunity to.”
