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MINNEAPOLIS — When Paige Bueckers walked into the family ballroom at the UConn hotel in Minneapolis, she headed straight for Tara Starks. Bueckers’ former AAU coach knew what was coming, and turned just as she leapt toward her, colliding with her side. It’s a traditional greeting for the two, even if Starks sometimes wished it wasn’t.
“I always tell her, ‘My knees are bad. My back is bad. What’s wrong with you?'” Starks said. “But it’s almost like the same kid I would sit and talk to in 11th grade. She’s not any different.”
Bueckers grew up in St. Louis Park, a suburb east of Minneapolis, 10 minutes from Target Center, where the women’s Final Four will be played Friday. She played at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka. She has won a state championship at the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena — known in the Twin Cities as The Barn — and lost at Target Center. There’s even a mural of Bueckers in the form of a Gatorade ad in Mall of America.
Bueckers led the Huskies to the Final Four with an incredible performance in a double overtime thriller against NC State in the Elite Eight. The sophomore poured in 27 points and snagged six rebounds in the 91-87 victory that earned the Huskies their 14th consecutive Final Four berth. And she did it while continuing to work her way back from surgery to repair a tibial plateau fracture and torn meniscus in her left knee.
“Our program is not going to win this game,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, addressing reporters after the win against NC State on Monday night. “Programs can get you to this game, but somebody needs to be big. Without a performance like that, there is no [Final Four].”
Nearly four months ago, it looked doubtful that Bueckers — and UConn — would make it here at all.
At Gampel Pavilion on Dec. 5, Bueckers dribbled up the floor with UConn up 70-52 over Notre Dame. As she bounced the ball with her right hand and shuffled her feet to get by a defender, she stumbled. After a few more steps, Bueckers…
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Source : espn
