“Unfortunately, this will not be my last Senior Night. I feel like God is still writing my story here. I’m just blessed to be a part of this program, and I never want it to end.” Last season, Paige Bueckers on Senior Night announced her decision to opt out of the WNBA draft. The Gampel Pavilion erupted upon hearing this news. But a year later, the same story won’t be repeated. As the star guard is projected to be the number-one pick in the WNBA.
Since this is her final season, the hopes of the championship are always high on any Huskies team. But UConn has been away from that feat since 2016. Is the star guard feeling the heat to deliver the title? And how she has been managing the ebbs and flows of her stardom? Paige Bueckers recently revealed working with a sports psychologist to handle any such pressure.
“He knows me extremely well and he has different ways of talking to me that help me alleviate that stress.” Apart from the professional help, it’s the family members who have been a constant support.
Especially her younger siblings who distract her from all the stress.”They’re so disconnected, they don’t really talk basketball with me. They just are my little siblings.” Paige Bueckers is referring to Ryan, Drew, and Lauren, “They just bring me a whole bunch of joy. They have this little kid joy about them.”
Bueckers says she started working with a sports psychologist at the beginning of this season to handle that pressure and her growing fame.
“He knows me extremely well and he has different ways of talking to me that help me alleviate that stress,” she shares.
The basketball… https://t.co/q8LdTe8aMw pic.twitter.com/2HJo4Vs3d6
— Vanshay Murdock (@VanshayM) March 17, 2025
The 6-0 feet star is getting ready for her final March Madness tournament and is expected to go first overall in the 2025 WNBA draft next month. Not a lot of time for the 23-year-old to compartmentalize every emotion during her journey. In the recent interview, she did allude to the fact that she was “trying to cherish” the final weeks of her college career.
Paige Bueckers has no pressure from the title aspiration
The 5th-year senior is leading the Huskies in scoring and assists average with 18.6 and 5, respectively. Even on Senior night, she burst for a 19-point performance, shooting 7-of-11 from the field. That would help improve UConn’s record to 28-3 and unbeaten in the Big East. That evening was also more special since she was inducted into the Huskies of Honor program and became only the 23rd Husky to receive the recognition. Other most recent Huskies players to achieve this are Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou, who were each inducted during the 2019 season.
Two weeks ago, she iterated the fact that she was enjoying her last season. “I think it’s a really great time in women’s sports, women’s basketball. But I am where my feet are. And that’s at UConn, enjoying my last year of college basketball being student-athlete.” Paige Bueckers was in conversation with Isis ‘Ice’ Young from Yahoo Sports on YouTube. “So, I am just trying to enjoy that really. And I guess use my social media platform to promote things, I’m not there yet.”
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