19-year-old Paige Bueckers is on an unprecedented tear for the greatest program in NCAA basketball history

• Paige Bueckers is good at basketball.
• Like, really, really good at basketball.
• She’s so good that she’s doing something no UConn player has done before — and she’s still just a freshman. 
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We’ve gotta talk about Paige Bueckers.

The UConn freshman iced Monday night’s nailbiter against the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks in spectacular fashion, draining a three-point dagger with 10.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Huskies their biggest win of the season.

As with most things Paige Bueckers, there was some sorcery involved. The 19-year-old’s shot ricocheted off the back of the rim, bouncing a good seven feet into the air above the backboard before splashing through the net.

“THE MAGIC OF PAIGE BUECKERS!”

—BIG EAST WBB (@BIGEASTWBB) February 9, 2021

 

Whether you chalk it up to sorcery, magic, or some other amorphous noun, Bueckers' command for the game undoubtedly boasts an intangible quality. Monday night's shot was just the culmination of her brilliance, and that's not lost on those who have seen her play - including some of the titans of women's basketball.

"When you watch Paige play, the first thing is that Paige just has a flair for the game and a swag to her," UConn legend and WNBA superstar Sue Bird told Insider last summer. "She can impact in so many different ways at that point guard spot."

—UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) February 9, 2021

 

From the start of her collegiate career, Bueckers has done just that. Her 17-point, nine-rebound, five-assist, five-steal performance in her Huskies debut was just a taste of what was to come from the much-hyped freshman. She's scored double digits in all but one of 14 games and has averaged 5.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists.

And for every turnover she's surrendered so far, she has made amends with a steal; she's averaging 2.6 per game in both categories.

"It's still crazy to me," Bueckers said, per ESPN. "Just the blessings that I've been given, just the opportunities I've received. It's all just so crazy to me that I'm here playing at my dream school in huge games like this with an amazing team and coaching staff. Every day, every second, every minute, I'm super grateful to be here."

Now that she's a few months into her tenure with Geno Auriemma's team, she's on a tear, the likes of which has never been seen at UConn. Bueckers has scored 30+ points in her past three games - including a 31-point showing against the top-ranked Gamecocks Monday night - rendering her the only player in the program's history to hit the 30-point mark in three consecutive games.

—Rebecca Lobo (@RebeccaLobo) February 9, 2021

"Lately, she's been more directing what we're doing instead of following," Auriemma told the Hartford Courant's Alex Philippou Friday after Bueckers' 30-point outing at Marquette. "I think she's pushing and leading a little bit."

"And she's being Paige," he added. "She's being about as good a player as there is in the country right now."

Many of women's basketball's brightest talents have passed through Storrs on their way to the WNBA. But none of them - Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Jennifer Rizzotti, Rebecca Lobo, Renee Montgomery, Moriah Jefferson, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Morgan Tuck, Gabby Williams, and Breanna Stewart included - has ever accomplished Bueckers' latest feat.

And she's managed to do it just 14 games into her career.

"She's that player," Auriemma said after Bueckers' performance Monday night. "She's that player that comes along that people talk about - 'Hey, did you see that kid from Connecticut?' She's that kid."