Can Paige Bueckers lead UConn back to an NCAA championship? - ESPN

STORRS, Conn. — If Paige Bueckers is feeling the emotions of senior day, she doesn't show it. The UConn guard walks onto the court at Gampel Pavilion, flanked by her siblings, holding their hands. Her sister sobs, and many of her teammates are already teary-eyed, but Bueckers sports a small smile.

The usual senior day rites transpire — Bueckers receives a framed jersey, poses for a slew of photos as she and three teammates are honored. But the attention of the 10,000 fans in the stands who stayed for the ceremony after the Huskies' regular-season finale zeroes in on Bueckers for what's next. Illuminated by a spotlight on the east wall, a black drape falls to unveil a small banner that marks Bueckers' induction into the Huskies of Honor, which commemorates the top players in UConn women's basketball's storied history.

Her arms crossed, Bueckers briefly takes in the reveal but quickly turns back to chat with teammates. Bueckers' individual accomplishments rival UConn's all-time greats, but she wants to hang a different banner in the rafters at Gampel. And this year — really, these next two weeks — marks her last chance to make it happen.

How this March Madness plays out for Bueckers and the No. 2 seed Huskies will, for better or worse, largely shape how her UConn career will be remembered.

When Bueckers arrived at UConn in the summer of 2020, the program boasted 11 national titles but none since 2016, Breanna Stewart's senior year. Championships are the standard in Storrs. Rebecca Lobo has one. Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Tina Charles won two. Diana Taurasi won three and Stewart four. After four years without one, Bueckers was deemed the player who would help end the drought.

But a championship has proved elusive for Bueckers