Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird share heartfelt embrace with Paige Bueckers before historic game
UConn legends Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird are in attendance as Paige Bueckers and the Huskies look to make history on Wednesday night. The second-ranked Huskies will take on Fairleigh Dickinson, and a win would see UConn's Geno Auriemma become the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history.
As they were walking on the court at Gampel Pavillion to reach their seats, Bird and Taurasi both hugged Paige Bueckers, who was warming up.
Bird played for the Huskies from 1998-2002, winning two national championships and earning two first-team All-American selections. Taurasi also attended UConn, suiting up for the Huskies from 2000-2004, winning three national championships and earning three first-team All-American selections.
Bird and Taurasi were teammates for two seasons and were starters on the 2001-02 national championship-winning team.
Paige Bueckers is the current star of this Huskies team and has had a strong start to the college basketball season. Three games into her senior campaign, she is averaging 21.3 points, 4.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds on 65% shooting.
Paige Bueckers' coach Geno Auriemma eyes Division I all-time wins record
Wednesday night's matchup versus Fairleigh Dickinson could be a historic game for UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma. With a Huskies win, the NCAA Division I basketball all-time wins record will belong to Auriemma, breaking her tie with Tara VanDerveer at 1,216 wins.
Both Auriemma and VanDerveer eclipsed former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski's all-time wins record last season. VanDerveer announced her retirement following Stanford's loss versus NC State in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Division I all-time wins record will be the latest addition to arguably the greatest coaching resume in collegiate basketball history. In his 40-year career at UConn, Auriemma has led the Huskies to 11 national championships and 35 NCAA Tournament appearances.
With a coaching record of 1,216-162, Auriemma has won eight Naismith Coach of the Year awards, nine AP Coach of the Year awards, and 12 Big East Coach of the Year awards. This season, the Huskies' coach will look to lead his team to its first national championship win since 2015-16.