“All egos aside, we just play team basketball”: Paige Bueckers gets real about JuJu Watkins match ahead of UConn vs USC
Paige Bueckers and the No. 4 UConn Huskies are gearing up for a heavyweight matchup against JuJu Watkins and the No. 7 USC Trojans on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET. With the individual stars headlining the matchup, Bueckers is emphasizing the importance of team play.
During the Huskies' pregame press conference on Friday, Bueckers shared her outlook on the upcoming game. When asked about facing Watkins, she said her focus is on the team’s performance rather than just her individual play.
"In a lot of the individual matchups, people come and tune in, maybe for that particular player, but they leave watching our team, falling in love with our team, and the way that we play, and how nobody's an individual on our team. Everybody, all egos aside, we just play team basketball, and there's a lot of players that you can fall in love with on our team," Bueckers said.
"Anybody could have 20 and it could be their night, as is shown this season. So that's definitely the message that I've always tried to voice, and we've always tried to voice, as a team, that we're a team, and no individual can win or lose the basketball game."
Paige Bueckers reflects on practicing against male practice players
It's uncommon for women’s basketball players to practice against male players, but Paige Bueckers got the opportunity to do so. She reflected on the experience, sharing what she liked most about it.
"That you can talk trash and they don't take it personal, like you can talk trash. Like go back and forth with them, and at the end of the day, you know it's all love," Bueckers said.
The No. 4 Huskies have a 10-1 record after 11 games this season. They average 81 points per game on 51.6% shooting and 36.9% from beyond the arc, while holding opponents to 53.4 ppg.
Bueckers leads the way with 20.6 ppg, along with 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.1 steals per contest while shooting 58.4%, including 44.2% from 3. Sarah Strong follows with 17.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.6 apg and 2.2 spg, while Ashlynn Shade provides 8.8 ppg.
After the game against No. 7 USC, Paige Bueckers and No. 4 UConn will close out their 2024 schedule against Providence at the XL Center on Dec. 29 at 1:30 p.m. ET.