“If you have Paige Bueckers on the floor, everybody gets better”: Geno Auriemma on UConn star guard’s effect on her teammates
Paige Bueckers started her final season at UConn in style, powering the Huskies to a dominant 86-32 win over the Boston Terriers in their season opener Thursday. As one of the veterans in Geno Auriemma's side, Bueckers will be expected to lead from the front the Huskies chase their first national championship since 2016.
During the postgame press conference, the veteran coach believes Bueckers is doing just that, admitting her impressive performances are influencing her teammates to give it everything when they take the court.
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"You have to look at it as one big picture," said Auriemma. "If you have Paige on the floor, everybody gets better immediately. Then, if you don't have her on the floor, that doesn't mean they're not able to. They just don't have someone setting it up for them.
"So, that's going to take somebody to do that. Some players just need people to set them up. So, we need to find somebody, I think. Obviously, Paige does that for everybody and Sarah does that quite a bit."
Bueckers ably backed up by her teammates in season opener
Bueckers and the Huskies hardly broke a sweat in their season opener. The star guard put in a solid all-round display finishing with 13 points, four rebounds, seven assists, five steals and a block.
She received ample support from Sarah Strong and Jana El Alfy, who finished as joint-top scorers for the Huskies with 17 points each. El Alfy, who came off the bench in her first game for the 11-time national champions, recorded an impressive double-double by grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.
2024 Big East Freshman of the Year Ashlynn Shade enjoyed the most minutes among all Huskies players, finishing with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and a team-leading six steals. All 10 players finished with at least three points, capping off a field day for the Huskies.
Bueckers, who earned a unanimous selection in AP's Preseason All-American team, is keen to end her college basketball career with a national championship. She will look to play her part in keeping the Huskies' winning momentum going in their first home game, which will take place on Nov. 10 against the South Florida Bulls at 4:30 p.m. ET.