PHOENIX ― UConn alumna Paige Bueckers was on the sideline during the Huskies’ 62-48 loss to South Carolina Friday night, unable to help her former team.
Bueckers was in Phoenix to watch the Huskies add to their trophy case. Instead, college basketball’s best team melted under the Gamecocks defensive pressure. UConn also couldn’t surpass South Carolina offensively, as they have with so many other teams, to stay undefeated.
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As Bueckers and other UConn greats like Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Napheesa Collier watched courtside and from the stands, the Dallas Wings guard says it felt strange not to be playing in the biggest game of the season.
“It was really weird just to be there on the sideline and not suiting up. I felt like I should have been in all those huddles, in the timeouts and on the floor,” Bueckers told USA TODAY Sports while promoting an NIL deal-turned partnership with Madison Reed, that dates back to her time at UConn.
“It was definitely like (an) out-of-body experience, kind of being in a different seat.
Bueckers, who wore her signature braids from her college basketball days and UConn gear, says she wishes she could have hopped in and put her jersey on for old time’s sake. She joked that she was “halfway there” with the brainds.
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The Huskies legend also had to deal with some trash talk from South Carolina alum A’ja Wilson. Bueckers admits that after the Huskies’ loss, she didn’t want to talk to Wilson, who came to collect on a pregame bet. The pair did chat on the phone, but the Wings guard says the conversation was short.
“She told me we lost, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I get it’. I was disappointed but ― and then she said I have to wear her shoes,” Bueckers said. “That was the bet. She chose (a) preseason game, like one half. I will not be wearing anything up top, side, bottom, whatever. I will just be wearing the shoes, and I don’t even do that, but I’m a woman of my word, so I gotta do it.”
Bueckers also told USA TODAY that she spoke with the team on Friday after the loss, sharing wisdom from her college journey, where she won and lost at the highest level. She says that the Huskies will use their Final Four loss as motivation to return to college basketball’s biggest stage next year
“Just to have that experience of getting there, a lot of them have the experience of winning and losing. So I feel like there’s so much that they can learn from and draw back on,” Bueckers said.
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“I think when you have a team with Sarah Strong on it, I feel like you always have a chance.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paige Bueckers on UConn Final Four loss and South Carolina bet
