UConn W Basketball

The WNBA will have to wait a little longer for the arrival of Paige Bueckers.

The UConn women's basketball star told reporters Thursday that she will return to the Huskies for the 2023-24 season and will not declare for the WNBA draft. She will be sidelined the entire 2022-23 campaign after tearing her ACL this summer.

"I’m not leaving … I will be playing college basketball again," Bueckers said.

UConn announced Aug. 3 that Bueckers tore the ACL in her left knee in a pickup basketball game. She underwent successful surgery to repair the ailment Aug. 9 and has already begun rehab.

https://twitter.com/charlottecrrll/status/1554920893708640258

It's no surprise that Bueckers intends to return to the Huskies for another season. She told Bleacher Report in a June interview that her goal for the 2022-23 campaign was to win a national championship.

"National championship, that's it," Bueckers said when asked what would make a successful 2022-23 season. "I don't think you're going to get a different answer out of me. Getting to the Final Four my freshman year and the national championship last year, the only thing left to do is win it. So that's the goal."

Winning a national title would be the icing on the cake for Bueckers, and she'll have another opportunity to do that in 2023-24. After that, she'll have her sights set on the WNBA and winning a title with whichever team drafts her.

Bueckers emerged as a college hoops star in 2020-21 as a freshman out of Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota. She averaged 20.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals in 29 games while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and 46.4 percent from deep.

The Huskies reached the Final Four when Bueckers was a freshman, and she went on to win the 2021 Wooden Award, 2021 Naismith Trophy and 2021 AP Player of the Year.

The 20-year-old was limited to just 17 games during the 2021-22 season due to a knee injury, which required surgery. She returned for the final two games of the regular season before helping the Huskies reach the NCAA tournament championship game, where they were defeated by South Carolina.

Bueckers averaged 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 54.4 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc as a sophomore.

The Huskies will look to reach the national title game again this year, but it will be much more difficult to do without Bueckers.

The 2023 WNBA draft will feature the likes of Aliyah Boston—who was named Naismith College Player of the Year, Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player last season—in addition to Haley Jones, Tamari Key, Ashley Owusu and Ayoka Lee.

UConn women's basketball star Paige Bueckers will miss the entire 2022-23 season after tearing the ACL in her left knee during a pickup basketball game on Monday, the team announced.

Bueckers will undergo surgery on Friday at UConn Health and an update on her recovery timetable will be announced after the procedure.

https://twitter.com/charlottecrrll/status/1554920893708640258

Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement:

"We're all devastated for Paige. She's worked really hard to get stronger and healthier this offseason, and this is an unfortunate setback. Paige is obviously an amazing basketball player but she's a better person and teammate and it's really unfortunate that this has happened to her. We'll miss her presence on the court, but she'll do everything she can to still lead and help her teammates this season. Our program will support Paige through her healing process to help her come back better and stronger."

It's a tough blow for Bueckers, who recently told Bleacher Report in an interview that she was gunning for a national championship in 2022-23.

"National championship, that's it," Bueckers said when asked what would make a successful 2022-23 season. "I don't think you're going to get a different answer out of me. Getting to the Final Four my freshman year and the national championship last year, the only thing left to do is win it. So that's the goal."

Bueckers burst onto the college basketball scene during the 2020-21 season as a freshman out of Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota. She averaged 20.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals in 29 games while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and 46.4 percent from deep.

She helped lead UConn to a berth in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, but the Huskies fell just short of reaching the championship game with a loss to Arizona.

Bueckers went on to earn a number of honors following her freshman season, including the 2021 Wooden Award, 2021 Naismith Trophy and 2021 AP Player of the Year.

The 20-year-old also had a solid sophomore season in 2021-22, though she was limited to just 17 games due to a knee injury suffered in a December game against Notre Dame before undergoing surgery.

Bueckers returned for the final two games of the regular season before playing all of the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament. She helped lead the Huskies to the championship game, where they were defeated by South Carolina.

Bueckers averaged 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 54.4 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc as a sophomore.

The Minnesota native was expected to have an even more impressive 2022-23 campaign, but now her junior season will be put on hold.

The Huskies will have to turn to veterans Aaliyah Edwards, Azzi Fudd, Nika Muhl and Caroline Ducharme this coming season, and now more pressure will be put on incoming freshmen Ayanna Patterson and Isuneh Brady, the No. 4 and No. 5 prospects in ESPN's 2022 class.

QUEENS — Paige Bueckers sat away from her team watching as the UConn Huskies began warming up before their conference matchup against St. John's. With a red Gatorade by her side, she sat and watched. 

Behind her emerged a young girl in a UConn navy blue Bueckers jersey with a Sharpie in her hand. She didn't even have to ask. Bueckers turned and signed the back of the girl's shirt, and the young fan smized over her black mask. 

After UConn walked off the floor with a 75-57 win, Azzi Fudd's dad shouted from the stands to Fudd, Bueckers and Christyn Williams, who had just been in COVID-19 protocols.

"Good job, tres amigos." The tres amigos, who also happened to be three players who could not play that afternoon. There hasn't been a time this season where every player was available. Since the beginning of the season, junior Aubrey Griffin, who has since had back surgery, has been out of commission.

 

In total, 10 UConn players have dealt with some circumstance that has forced them to watch their teammates play. Inconsistency and adversity had become the name of the game for UConn women's basketball, one of the most successful college programs of all time. 

UConn enters the Big East tournament sporting a 22-5 record, which includes its first loss to an unranked team since 2012 and its first conference defeat since 2013. The Huskies' five regular-season losses are the most since 2005.

With 10 different starting lineups throughout the regular season, sophomore point guard Nika Muhl summarized what the constant disruptions felt like. Her description wasn't subtle. 

"This is a very weird place we are at right now, like people out, like everything going on," she told reporters on Jan. 21. "We're going through hell, literally."

Her proclamation was quite bold for a program whose current roster includes the reigning Naismith Player of the Year (Bueckers) and five others who came into college as top-five high school recruits (Fudd, Caroline Ducharme, Evina Westbrook, Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.)

But it paints a picture of what she and her teammates were feeling from the beginning of December through the end of February. The week following Dec. 5 was one that she and her teammates would never forget. 

             

An emotionally draining week

When Bueckers went down with 38 seconds remaining in a 19-point rout of the Fighting Irish, the week that followed was emotionally, physically and mentally draining. There was a weight of uncertainty that followed the Huskies throughout their games at Georgia Tech four days later, and then in Newark against UCLA for the Never Forget Tribute Classic. 

The team was on edge and unsure of what was next—not only for Bueckers but also the rest of the roster. In that week, the team learned it only had six rotation players available. Fudd was continuing to recover from a nagging foot injury and Muhl had a foot issue of her own. As for Bueckers, was she getting surgery, was she not? 

"It was a lot on our team," associate head coach Chris Dailey told B/R about that week. "It was a lot on them as people and them as players." 

When the Huskies lost on the road at Georgia Tech in the first game since Bueckers went down, there was much more at stake. The Yellow Jackets broke UConn's 240-game win streak against unranked opponents. Georgia Tech didn't stay unranked for long, as it jumped to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 following its upset victory. That defeat did damage, as Dailey noticed how massively it impacted the players.

"It was more draining than I've ever seen from a team losing a game," Dailey said. "It wasn't just that, it was more. And it was a lot."

The target on UConn's back that's usually embraced by its players became overwhelming. The outside chatter from media members and fans was unified in its concern for the program. The Huskies were vulnerable, and there was no doubt about it.

At first, this felt reminiscent of the injury that took out Shea Ralph in her freshman year at UConn in 1997. She tore her ACL in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Head coach Geno Auriemma admitted that he, his staff and the team didn't handle losing Ralph well. Dailey believed that the team had reacted to that injury in ways that exasperated the situation. As a result, UConn lost in the Elite Eight after playing like the best team in the country throughout the 1997 season. Both Dailey and Auriemma knew this season couldn't be a repeat of 1997. 

But as time went on, this situation in 2022 felt different. UConn had to get itself back to playing at a high level, something that wasn't always the case during the beginning of the season, even with Bueckers, Fudd and others healthy. 

                  

Acceptance of the process

Senior Nelson-Ododa admitted that this team's problems were apparent from early in the season.

Back on Dec. 5, UConn suffered its first loss of the season to South Carolina in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship. Before all of the injuries and COVID issues, UConn's depth rivaled the No. 1 Gamecocks on paper. But a disastrous fourth quarter dashed the Huskies' hopes for an early marquee win. They scored merely three points in the final frame in a game they’d lose 73-57. The Gamecocks exposed the Huskies' lack of focus, inconsistent effort and maturity. 

Nelson-Ododa chalked up the awkward half-court offensive sets and reliance on Bueckers to a lack of communication and a hesitancy to speak up. 

While there were some returnees from the 2020-2021 season, there were also a lot of new faces, like Fudd, Caroline Ducharme and graduate transfer Dorka Juhasz. It took time to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Huskies' new personnel, something they were forced to do without Bueckers bailing them out in high-pressure situations. 

Who was going to step up? 

After UConn's discombobulated start against UCLA, senior Evina Westbrook put matters into her own hands. As the only player available who was comfortable handling the ball, she began tinkering with UConn's offense. She lunged aggressively through the lane and ran a pick-and-roll action with Nelson-Ododa that UCLA had trouble reading. 

"It looked like we were kind of figuring things out in real time on the floor," Nelson-Ododa told B/R. "And that's exactly how it felt. It was like, 'OK, so this works. This doesn't work. We can put somebody here. We can't put somebody here, you know. They'd be better off over here or elsewhere.'"

In that same game, the Huskies saw the emergence of 6'5" forward Juhasz, who finished with a 16-16 double-double. Up to that point, she had been struggling to affect the game during her rotations. She came to Storrs with a quiet confidence, having come off three seasons at Ohio State where she was selected to the All-Big Ten first team twice. But as Nelson-Ododa said, Auriemma, Juhasz and Co. had to figure out where the Hungarian native was most comfortable playing, something that was accomplished through better communication.  

While some were learning, others were trying to do too much. In the three games following the Notre Dame contest, Senior Christyn Williams shot 32.5 percent from the field (14-of-43). Shots weren't falling and her frustration was visible during games. What was the key to getting her through a shooting slump?

According to Dailey, it was about reminding her to play her own game and not do anything she wasn't capable of accomplishing. While Williams has battled shooting inconsistencies over the years, what's undeniable is her athleticism and motor. She's built to be a slasher that's a nightmare going downhill. The shot-making would come along with the effort applied to other facets of her game, such as finishing layups, kick-outs during double teams, finding open shooters, rebounding and getting into passing lanes. 

"We're not asking them to be anything but who they are," Dailey said. 

But what if the group didn't really know who it was yet? The Huskies' identity was in flux, and that was something they had to accept. They had to accept that conference games wouldn't necessarily be a blowout. What was certain about its identity was it would contain grit and effort. Winning didn't come without outworking opponents. 

"We are confident, but we have to work like underdogs," Juhasz said. "We have to work really hard on the boards, we have to get steals and stops and you know it just shows when we're playing good everybody's contributing in something. It doesn't necessarily have to be points, rebounds, assists. So I think our best game so far has been when we were very balanced on offense … and outrebounding our opponent."

Bueckers was also on a journey of acceptance. When B/R asked former UConn legend Breanna Stewart about how she'd approach Bueckers' situation, it was all about looking at the bigger picture and developing a mental muscle to help her get through this: patience. 

"You can't rush anything and if you do, you're at risk of messing something else up," Stewart said. "But she's learning about patience right now."

In addition to being patient with herself, Bueckers could still contribute to the team differently. Though she would prefer being on the court, she was still sitting on the bench and she was still listening during timeouts. 

That sitting transformed into dancing and celebrating, and that listening transformed into speaking and demanding accountability. According to Westbrook, Bueckers developed a sense of duality during her time off the court. She always was the teammate that would lift others, but she was hesitant to provide any constructive feedback. But after sitting out for months, Bueckers has found a different kind of voice that her team needs her to have. 

"[It's] like, 'Hey, it's gonna be OK' when the time is right," Westbrook told B/R about how Bueckers communicates. "But also like, 'Nah, this isn't OK. This is the same thing coach is talking about and he's right, we have to fix it.'"

But sometimes Bueckers' developing voice wasn't enough, especially during their losses to Oregon and Villanova. More players were out because of time spent in COVID protocols or injuries. Williams was a late scratch once the team found out she tested positive, and Ducharme and Nelson-Ododa were unavailable with respective head and groin injuries. 

After the Oregon game, in particular, Muhl and Juhasz took the result to heart, and both returned to play against Seton Hall and St. John's newly invigorated. Against Seton Hall, Muhl shot 50 percent from the field for 11 points and added seven rebounds. Juhasz was one board shy of a double-double, recording 16 points and nine boards against St. John's.

Dailey noted that the mental game off the court is just as, if not more challenging than what's thought about during in-game situations. 

"It can be overwhelming," she said. "If you are only focusing on March, that's overwhelming, because it's then you missed the process until you get to March. But if you are only worrying about the game you just had, then how are you moving forward. So there's a lot to the process and just try to take it literally practice by practice, game by game."

             

Adversity off the court

While Westbrook showed flashes of being a two-way combo wing with a sizable WNBA draft stock initially after Bueckers went down, the senior suddenly began playing with more apprehension and less confidence. She was still adjusting to her new role as the Huskies' sixth player, but something else was up. 

In mid-to-late January, her former coach died. She had known this person since she was four years old and didn't know how to deal with their death. She tried to push it down and be there for her team, but she realized that she needed to let them be there for her. They would give her unprompted hugs and show her love without saying it. They would say, "We know you don't want to talk about it, but we're here for you even if you want to."

What allowed Westbrook to compartmentalize and reset? It was during a discussion with her position coach, Morgan Valley. Valley understood that Westbrook was grieving while trying to fulfill her responsibilities on the team, and she reminded her how she began the season. "You were playing like you had something to prove," Valley told her. 

Since that discussion, Westbrook goes into every game with that initiative in mind.

                

Opportunities led directly to player development

A silver lining to a season with players coming in and out of the lineup was UConn's ability to give its younger players opportunities to prove themselves. That was the case for Ducharme, who stepped in when the Huskies needed a scoring guard with Bueckers and Fudd unavailable. 

Like Juhasz, Ducharme has a quiet confidence, if not even quieter. She doesn't wear her emotions on her sleeve when she makes a mistake. If she misses a shot, she just keeps shooting, a mentality that gave her enough confidence to take and make the winning shot in a thriller against conference rivals DePaul on Jan. 26.

January 26, 2022: Caroline Ducharme (@c_ducharme3) hits this game winning shot as part of a 19 point effort to beat DePaul in Chicago pic.twitter.com/XuvBlhzrFN

— Husky Highlights (@UConnHighlights) February 3, 2022

Muhl proved herself this season to Dailey. On both sides of the floor, Muhl is constantly setting the tone emotionally. When it comes to expressiveness, she's the absolute inverse of Ducharme. 

Dailey explained that Muhl's tendency to wear her heart on her sleeve and her stubbornness can be a double-edged sword. During Muhl's freshman year, Dailey struggled to reach her. She simply didn't listen. But this season that changed. 

On Jan. 9 against Creighton, Muhl's first game back from her foot injury, she was adapting to the flow of the game after being out for a few weeks. When she was subbed in, the first thing she did was commit a personal foul, which wasn't a shock. Dailey expressed that Muhl is currently learning the balance that comes with being aggressive defensively while also not committing "dumb fouls."

In the fourth quarter, Muhl stomped over to the sideline after getting her fourth personal foul, visibly frustrated. As Muhl approached the bench, Dailey grabbed her, turned with her back facing Muhl and put her arms straight up. Dailey then backed down Muhl, trying to simulate to her player how she should guard a post up. Since then, Dailey has noticed significant improvement and believes that Muhl has been the heart and soul of UConn following her return from injury. 

"I don't think that anyone brings the same level of passion that she does every day, day in, day out and every minute she's on the court," Dailey said.

Nelson-Ododa agreed with that assessment, adding that Muhl's the unofficial leader on the team who, thanks to her youth, can relate to both the older and younger players. She's the team's bridge. 

Muhl's recent honor, winning Big East Defensive Player of the Year, is just a mere symbol of what she's done this season and why her year-to-year exponential growth has been invaluable to UConn. Other conference honors included the following: Nelson-Ododa and Williams on the All-Big East first team, Ducharme on the All-Big East second team and Ducharme and Azzi Fudd on the Big East All-Freshman team. 

Auriemma did not get a conference coach of the year honor. This is the fourth time in the past 14 years where this has happened. If anything, this is the season he deserved it the most. 

After the victory at St. John's on Jan. 23, Auriemma spoke to reporters about how he shared a famous Winston Churchill quote with the team: "If you are going through hell, keep going." He asked his players who Churchill was and one anonymous player raised her hand and said he was a former president of the United States. 

In talking about UConn's resilience, Geno Auriemma says that this week, he asked his players who Winston Churchill was.

Geno: "Who was he?"

Anonymous UConn player: "President of the United States" 😂 pic.twitter.com/fxIqx6VrbT

— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) January 23, 2022

Jokes and laughter aside, it was a moment that made players feel seen and heard. Once Nelson-Ododa finished laughing while recalling the moment, she noted that it represented what this program is about. Auriemma gave his players an option: You keep going or you quit. 

It was a moment that bonded the group and proved Auriemma can still relate to his players and get the best out of them, regardless of the generational gap. 

            

What awaits in the postseason

There is hope—because of the adversity and constant change—that the 2021-2022 UConn Huskies can withstand any storm. And now with Bueckers back in the fold, can this team overcome the lack of toughness it showed earlier this season against South Carolina? Can UConn move past how it played in its loss to Arizona in last year's Final Four?

While there's valid excitement surrounding the Huskies and their fans, uncertainty remains. How quickly can Bueckers adjust to the more balanced team that UConn has become? No one can predict what may come next from a team defined by constant changes. 

"Who knows where it's going to lead?" Dailey said. "All I know is that every day as coaches and as players we're going to work really hard at giving it our best shot. And getting us to the point where we're playing at a high level and everyone is being their best self. And that will make us our best team."

UConn women's basketball star Paige Bueckers made her long-awaited return to the court Friday in a 93-38 home win over St. John's.

Bueckers came off the bench and scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in 12 minutes. She added two rebounds and one assist on a turnover-free night.

The 2021 national consensus player of the year suffered an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear to her left knee against Notre Dame on Dec. 5.

Prior to her injury, the guard averaged 21.2 points on 56.3 percent shooting, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 36.2 minutes over six games.

On Friday, Bueckers substituted in with 3:41 left in the first quarter. She closed the frame with a buzzer-beating shot.

.@paigebueckers1 gets her first bucket since December 5th and it was a buzzer beater

Tough. 😤

(via @UConnWBB)pic.twitter.com/zNPW7JRNje

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 26, 2022

She played four more minutes in the second quarter and found Aaliyah Edwards with a smooth bounce pass for two:

Paige Bueckers drops a DIME to Aaliyah Edwards pic.twitter.com/uAcKZucTTd

— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) February 26, 2022

Buckers later hit a running one-hander with 20 seconds remaining in the half:

We got our girl back! pic.twitter.com/QdMWQgzBso

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) February 26, 2022

She checked back in with 4:56 left in the third quarter and kept making an impact, including with this transition bucket off a pass from Dorka Juhasz:

https://twitter.com/UConnWBB/status/1497383013457403905

Bueckers played the remainder of the third quarter before sitting out the fourth.

The No. 7 Huskies improved to 21-5 (15-1 Big East) with the victory.

Freshman guard Azzi Fudd scored 19 points (5-of-7 three-point shooting), and Edwards added 16 points and seven rebounds. Evina Westbrook didn't take a shot, but she didn't need to score to make an impact en route to 10 assists and seven boards.

The Huskies will play Providence at home Sunday before the Big East tournament begins March 4 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. UConn will be the No. 1 seed.

UConn women's basketball superstar point guard Paige Bueckers will return to the court Friday when the Huskies host St. John's.

ESPN's Alexa Philippou relayed the news:

BREAKING: UConn announces Paige Bueckers has been cleared to return to game action.

She’ll suit up Friday when UConn takes on St. John’s

— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) February 24, 2022

Bueckers suffered an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear to her left knee during a 73-54 win over Notre Dame on Dec. 5. She underwent surgery on Dec. 13, and UConn said then that her expected recovery time was eight weeks.

Bueckers went through warmups prior to UConn's 69-38 win over Marquette on Wednesday, per Daniel Connolly of The UConn Blog:

Paige Bueckers (who has already been ruled out) going through some warmups pregame pic.twitter.com/5V4Cj4sYjF

— Daniel Connolly (@DanielVConnolly) February 23, 2022

And now it looks like she'll be good to go when the Red Storm roll into Storrs on Friday.

The sophomore averaged 21.2 points (56.3 percent shooting), 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.7 steals in six games this year.

Bueckers' first season at UConn ended with her winning the AP Player of the Year, the Naismith College Player of the Year award, the Nancy Lieberman Award and the John R. Wooden award, among other accolades. She was also named a unanimous first-team All-American. The Huskies ended up making the Final Four, where they fell to Arizona.

This season, Bueckers is returning to a 20-5 Huskies team (14-1 Big East) ranked seventh in the Associated Press poll. The Huskies are riding a five-game winning streak that has featured them outscoring their opponents by 34.6 points per game along the way.

When she returns, Bueckers will have the opportunity to play with a healthy first-year superstar in Azzi Fudd. The two suited up for four games together at the beginning of the year, but Fudd was playing through a foot injury that ended up sidelining her for two months.

She's been back for a month and shooting the lights out, though, making 45.5 percent of her three-pointers while averaging 12.7 points per game.

Now they'll look to team up and help lead UConn to a national title alongside other standouts like Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.

The Huskies have one more regular-season game after the St. John's matchup (Sunday at home versus Providence) before the Big East Tournament starts.

In a surprising result, the No. 8 UConn women's basketball team suffered a 72-69 loss on its home floor to unranked Villanova on Wednesday.

It's the first time UConn has fallen to a Big East opponent in nine years, as the loss ends the Huskies' 169-game conference winning streak dating back to 2013.

The victory continued an eight-game win streak for the Wildcats, who defeated the Huskies for the first time since February 2004.

The first and third quarters doomed UConn, which struggled to stop the Villanova offense. The Huskies were outscored by 10 in each of those frames and faced a 62-45 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.

UConn's offense finally woke up with a 24-point burst in the final period, but it was too late. The Huskies cut the lead to two with nine seconds left, but Villanova's Brianna Herlihy hit one of two free throws and UConn couldn't get another shot off before time expired.

The Wildcats (16-6, 10-3) shot 51.8 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range. Villanova never trailed in the game and outrebounded UConn 37-21. Lior Garzon led the way with 19 points, while Maddy Siegrist had 17 points and 12 boards. Herlihy added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Freshman Azzi Fudd's career-high 29 points and Christyn Williams' 24 points led the Huskies (15-5, 9-1). No other player on the team scored in double figures as only eight players were available, and only six saw playing time.

Villanova will go for its ninth straight win on Friday against Marquette, while UConn will look to bounce back that same day against DePaul.

One of the most highly anticipated nonconference games of the women's college basketball season will not happen.

Mechelle Voepel of ESPN reported Thursday's game between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 9 UConn was canceled because the Gamecocks are looking to make up SEC games that were previously postponed because of COVID-19 concerns.

As a result, South Carolina will play Ole Miss on Thursday, and the Huskies will face DePaul in a Big East game on Wednesday.

"Dawn Staley reached out to me about postponing the series for this season," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "It's a priority for South Carolina to make up SEC games, so this is the best decision for them right now. We know a lot of fans were excited for this game, but we look forward to continuing the series with South Carolina in future seasons."

Staley, who is South Carolina's head coach, echoed those sentiments:

I know our fans always enjoy the UConn game, and our team enjoys the rivalry. But I have always said that our conference season, and especially our goal of another SEC championship, is more central to our program.

As we approach the second half of league play next month, it has become more important to complete our SEC schedule to keep ourselves in the running for a conference title. This Thursday is one of the few dates Ole Miss has open, so, with my team's best interest at heart, I started the conversations that led us to this point.

Perhaps there would have been more urgency to play Thursday's game as scheduled if the two powerhouses didn't already play this season.

The Gamecocks defeated UConn by 16 points in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in November. The two programs are also scheduled to face each other in each of the next two seasons.

While UConn is widely considered the gold standard of women's college basketball, this season has been something of a roller coaster.

Star player Paige Bueckers has not played since a Dec. 5 victory over Notre Dame with a knee injury, and the team is just 6-3 since with losses to Georgia Tech, Louisville and Oregon.

As for 17-1 South Carolina, its only loss came to Missouri by one point in overtime.

The Gamecocks are 5-1 in SEC play but are chasing 7-0 Tennessee. UConn is the only undefeated team in the Big East at 6-0 in conference play, but the upcoming game against DePaul will be key since the Blue Demons are 8-1.         

After losing two of their past three games, the Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team has fallen out of the Top 10 in the Associated Press rankings for the first time since 2005. 

In the latest AP Top 25 poll released Monday, the Huskies dropped four spots to No. 11. South Carolina (11-0) remained in the top spot and received all 29 first-place votes. 

Women's College Basketball 2021 AP Top 25 Poll (Week 7)

1. South Carolina (11-0)

2. Stanford (8-2)

3. Louisville (10-1)

4. Arizona (10-0)

5. North Carolina State (11-2)

6. Maryland (9-3)

7. Tennessee (9-1)

8. Indiana (9-2)

9. Michigan (11-1)

10. Baylor (9-2)

11. Connecticut (6-3)

12. Texas (8-1)

T13. Iowa State (11-1)

T13. Georgia (10-1)

15. Iowa (6-2)

16. Duke (9-1)

17. Georgia Tech (9-2)

18. South Florida (8-3)

19. BYU (9-1)

20. Notre Dame (10-2)

21. LSU (9-1)

22. Kentucky (7-3)

23. Texas A&M (9-2)

24. Ohio State (8-2)

25. North Carolina (10-0)

According to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), Connecticut spent a record 313 consecutive weeks ranked in the Top 10 dating back to March 7, 2005. 

No. 10 Baylor now holds the longest active streak of consecutive weeks in the top 10 at 136. 

Connecticut announced Dec. 14 that Paige Bueckers, the reigning AP Player of the Year, is expected to miss eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear. 

She suffered the injury in the final minute of a Dec. 5 win over Notre Dame. 

In six games with Bueckers, the Huskies were 5-1 and averaged 62.3 points per game. They are averaging 59.7 points per game and have lost two of three games without the superstar sophomore. 

While head coach Geno Auriemma looks to find answers for UConn, Dawn Staley is doing everything right with South Carolina right now. The Gamecocks already have three wins over top-16 opponents: Connecticut, Duke, Maryland. 

This week will present a significant challenge for South Carolina. It will host No. 2 Stanford on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. The reigning national champions have won four straight games, including a 74-63 victory over Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday.     

Connecticut women's basketball star Paige Bueckers is considering knee surgery that would keep her out longer than original estimates. 

Head coach Geno Auriemma told reporters on Saturday that Bueckers is going to "solicit a couple other opinions" before deciding whether or not to have surgery to repair her tibial plateau fracture. 

"And then the next step is there's either going to be surgery or there's not going to be surgery," Auriemma added. "And that's gotta happen relatively soon. Yes or no."

The Huskies announced on Tuesday that Bueckers would miss six to eight weeks. 

Bueckers was injured late in the second half of UConn's 73-54 win over Notre Dame on Dec. 5. 

While dribbling the ball, her left leg buckled. She passed the ball to a teammate before collapsing on the court. Teammates and coaches carried her to the locker room. 

Dr. Jessica Flynn, who provides injury analysis for the Boston Sports Journal, added context for the type of injury Bueckers suffered:

Paige Bueckers sustained a non-contact hyperextension knee injury. This mechanism of injury can cause bone bruising, the most extreme form of which is a crack in the bone. Depending on severity, important to let this fully heal before resuming basketball. https://t.co/4NfH0MAgGV pic.twitter.com/9YsTMsjMq6

— DocFlynn (@DocFlynnNFL) December 7, 2021

Former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant suffered a similar injury during the 2013-14 season that was expected to keep him out for six weeks. He didn't undergo surgery but was unable to return before the end of the season. 

Bueckers, the reigning Associated Press and Naismith Player of the Year winner, was averaging 21.2 points, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game in six starts this season. 

Dorka Juhasz has been inserted into the starting lineup with Bueckers on the shelf. The Hungary native scored a season-high 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting and grabbed 16 rebounds in Saturday's 71-61 win over UCLA. 

The Huskies are ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll with a 6-2 record.