UConn women’s basketball star point guard Paige Bueckers just announced she would be returning to UConn for her senior season after suffering from an ACL tear during a pickup game on Aug. 1. After this injury, speculation brewed over if she would declare for the WNBA draft or stay at UConn for her final year. Bueckers is one of the most decorated athletes in college sports, being the BIG EAST Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year during her first season and making the NCAA Tournament Final Four All-Tournament Team this past season as only a sophomore. Having Bueckers for her senior season almost guarantees an NCAA tournament run in the 2023-2024 season.

Senior Julia Miller, who is on the girls’ basketball team here at Plant, says, “This year without Paige will definitely be a challenge. They will need someone else to step up to lead the team, and if someone can fill that gap, they have a lot of potential this season.” Although Bueckers will not be back for the 22-23 season, fans still expect UConn to dominate like they have been doing since 1999, with 34 tournament appearances and 11 NCAA championships, which is the most in all of women’s college basketball.

Freshman Jazlyn Bowman says, “Paige Bueckers is old enough to turn pro, but with the WNBA being so underpaid and her injury, finishing college makes the most sense.” Even with Bueckers being one of the world’s most well-known female basketball players, she would make a minimum salary of only $60,000, while the NBA minimum is about 15x that number. It is the best option for most female athletes to finish college and earn a degree, while for men’s sports, it is much more common to go pro after only one year of college basketball.

Regardless of the reason for her decision, Bueckers announcing she will be playing out her last year at UConn is huge for the Huskies. It will be hard to fill the void that her absence will cause. Still, UConn has plenty of All-Americans who will have an opportunity to step up in a big way before her return as a senior, such as Azzi Fudd, who shot 43% from three last season, Aaliyah Edwards, whose 6’3″ frame helped her claim second on the team in rebounds per game, and Caroline Ducharme, who was the defensive player of the year for the 21-22 season. UConn’s promising roster has fans excited for the season to come! Check out their schedule below.

Schedule for 2022 2023 season for Uconn Womens basketball  team

https://uconnhuskies.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule/2022-23