Paige Bueckers Leads UConn Huskies Past Stanford in Final Four

• Paige Bueckers was exactly what the Huskies needed this year in the NCAA tournament.
• After sustaining an injury in the early season, the sophomore star has returned to UConn to help them win the national championship.
• Her gritty Final Four performance against Stanford is the best example of her resurgence.

UConn struggled for its sophomore star during its most recent season.

She was there for the Huskies when they most needed her.

The 2021 National Player of the Year Paige Bueckers recorded a team-high 14 points and five assists — and tacked on four rebounds, two steals, and a block — to lead No. 2 UConn beat the Stanford Cardinal, who was top-seed in Friday’s Final Four. Tara VanDerveer’s team led the Huskies by narrow margins throughout the game. But, the Cardinal managed to stop the Huskies from defending their title.

Bueckers was seen slicing through the hardwood, looking for loose balls. It was hard to believe that Bueckers had missed the majority of the season because of an injury.

The Minnesota native was injured in the final minutes of UConn’s clash against Notre Dame Fighting Irish on December 5. The issue was quickly repaired and she missed 19 games while recovering from surgery.

When she returned to the court in February, she was a shining star. But she struggled to get back to her peak performance in subsequent games. However, she has steadily found her groove in this year’s NCAA Tournament to the tune 15.8 points per games since the Round of 32.

Despite Bueckers’ mediocre point total, her revival is more evident than in her Final Four performance.

After appearing in the Final Four in 14 of their previous tournaments, the Huskies will now be heading to their first national championship game since 2006. They’ll be facing the wire-to-wire No. 1 team in the country — the South Carolina Gamecocks — for a chance to claim the program’s 12th title in Sunday’s season finale.

The action will unfold on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. Fans can catch it live on ESPN. ET on ESPN.