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UConn Shares Exciting Statement Featuring Paige Bueckers on Friday

UConn Shares Exciting Statement Featuring Paige Bueckers on Friday

Yahoo16-05-2025

The UConn Huskies women's basketball program recently celebrated another significant milestone.
With the 2025 WNBA season set to tip off, 15 former Huskies will begin the year on opening-day rosters.
Among the names highlighted was guard Paige Bueckers, who is set to make her debut with the Dallas Wings in their season opener against the Minnesota Lynx on Friday.
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Bueckers was selected No. 1 overall by the Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft after a standout college career with the Huskies.
UConn took to X to celebrate the achievement, highlighting not only the program's strong pipeline to the professional ranks but also one of college basketball's most decorated players stepping onto the WNBA stage.
Bueckers arrived at UConn in 2020 and quickly reshaped expectations for freshman guards.
In 2021, she became the first-ever freshman to claim the John R. Wooden Award and AP Player of the Year, joining an elite list of Huskies legends.
In her final senior season in 2024-25, she led UConn in scoring (19.9 ppg) and assists (4.6 apg), while shooting 53.4% from the field and 41.9% from 3-point range.
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In the process, she guided the Huskies to their 12th national title, won the Wade Trophy, Nancy Lieberman Award, and consensus First-Team All-America honors.
She also earned Big East Player of the Year and Tournament Most Outstanding Player distinctions.
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers.Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Dallas finished 2024 with a 9-31 record, the franchise's worst winning percentage since 2011.
Now, the Wings enter the 2025 WNBA season with a renewed sense of hope, as a former college basketball icon leads the franchise into a new era.
Related: Wings Release Two of Paige Bueckers' Teammates on Saturday
Related: Indiana Fever Turn Heads with Roster Announcement on Thursday

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Sophie Cunningham shows off tight bond with Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull through cheeky pre-game outfit
Sophie Cunningham shows off tight bond with Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull through cheeky pre-game outfit

Fox News

time2 hours ago

  • Fox News

Sophie Cunningham shows off tight bond with Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull through cheeky pre-game outfit

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is gelling quite nicely with her new teammates this season, and her pre-game outfit before Sunday's matchup against the Las Vegas Aces proves that point. Her shirt, in particular, had quite the cheeky message of just how tight she is with a certain duo. Cunningham, who has recently seen her popularity in the WNBA grow after defending Caitlin Clark on the court against the Connecticut Sun, donned a shirt with herself, Clark and fellow guard Lexie Hull on it with the words "Tres Leches" printed as well. "Tres Leches" translates from Spanish to "Three Milks" – as we said, quite the cheeky message from Cunningham. However, in the spirit of athletes showcasing their support and bond with teammates, Cunningham leaves no reason to doubt how much she loves her women in the locker room on and off the court. She was also doing it with her words recently, as she spoke in fiery fashion to reporters about having to physically defend Clark this past Tuesday against Sun players. She called out the WNBA and its referees for "not protecting" Clark. She got into a physical altercation with Jacy Sheldon after the latter poked Clark in the eye, which quickly led to a skirmish when Marina Mabrey shoved the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year onto the hardwood. Cunningham, Sheldon and Sun guard Lindsay Allen were ejected from the game with about 40 seconds left after Cunningham fouled Sheldon hard underneath the basket on a fast break. "During that, it was just part of the game," Cunningham told reporters. "I think the refs had a lot to do with that. It was a build-up for a couple years now of them just not protecting the star player of the WNBA. At the end of the day, I'm going to protect my teammates. That's what I do." Last season, while Clark was breaking rookie and league records, there was a lot of debate about whether the league was protecting her on the court, as teams got very physical with her to potentially disrupt her game. Since Cunningham joined the Fever this season, she has been vocal even on the sidelines when Clark or any of her teammates are getting roughed up. Additionally, when she has checked into the game, Cunningham is sure to step between anyone who is messing with her teammates, as evident during the incidents with Clark. As a result of being a good teammate to one of the league's faces, Cunningham's popularity has skyrocketed, and that shows in her social media following. She had fewer than 400,000 followers on TikTok prior to last Tuesday's game against the Sun. She now has 1.3 million and counting on that platform. On Instagram, the number was more than 300,000, and it now stands at more than 839,000. If Cunningham was not already showing herself as the Fever's "enforcer" enough, she has the credentials to back it up, as she is a black belt in Taekwondo. Cunningham and the Fever, though, want to win games as well as make a physical statement when needed. They have dropped back-to-back games now after losing to the Aces on Sunday, when she had nine points, six rebounds and one assist over 24 minutes. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

For three Sparks rookies, the WNBA journey is one of uncertainty and promise
For three Sparks rookies, the WNBA journey is one of uncertainty and promise

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

For three Sparks rookies, the WNBA journey is one of uncertainty and promise

Well before fans stream into Arena for the Sparks' rematch against the Phoenix Mercury, Sarah Ashlee Barker is on the court two and a half hours early. The first out of the tunnel, as she's been all season, she fires off jump shots with a stone-faced expression. Thrown unexpectedly into a starting role as a rookie, Barker's rise in the WNBA has outpaced even her own expectations. Amid a season riddled with injuries, the Sparks have leaned on their first-round pick. Advertisement On this day, Barker was trying to adjust to a new role coming off the bench after forcing some plays that hindered the team's success. Life for a rookie in the WNBA demands adaptability. An uncommon sight across the league, the Sparks kept all three of their recent draft picks on the roster. They are former college standouts who earned conference honors, with one winning a national championship. But they face far greater physicality, speed and overall grit in the WNBA. A quick promotion Sparks guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, right, drives to the basket against Golden State Valkyries guard Julie Vanloo on May 6. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press) For Barker, the jump to the WNBA has been grueling. In a short time, she's faced some of the league's top players — Chelsea Gray, Nneka Ogwumike, Rhyne Howard. At times, she's held her own. But there are also moments when she's looked every bit like a rookie. Advertisement When Sparks coach Lynne Roberts first told Barker she'd be starting, the message was short and direct: 'Hey kiddo, you're going to be starting. I believe in you. I have confidence in you. I trust you.' 'Those matchups are tough,' Roberts acknowledged. 'That's throwing a rookie in the deep end, but I do think she was ready for it.' Barker was soon shifted to the bench to "take some pressure off," but it didn't last long. The injury-plagued Sparks needed her to start again. 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Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Seattle Storm's Nneka Ogwumike, WNBA players union president, speaks out on CBA negotiations
Seattle Storm's Nneka Ogwumike, WNBA players union president, speaks out on CBA negotiations

Chicago Tribune

time2 hours ago

  • Chicago Tribune

Seattle Storm's Nneka Ogwumike, WNBA players union president, speaks out on CBA negotiations

SEATTLE — As president of the WNBA's players union, Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike has been asked time and again about the league's collective bargaining agreement discussions. The WNBA is bringing in more money than ever from sponsors and ticket sales, and will bring in much more from its 11-year media rights deal, worth around $200 million per year starting in 2026 — yet player salaries haven't increased drastically in recent years. In light of other players around the WNBA speaking out, Ogwumike addressed the matter of player salaries following the Storm's 89-79 win over the New York Liberty on Sunday. 'We have women out here who know the business. And we understand where our league has been and where it's going,' Ogwumike said. 'And, we're prepared. We're prepared. And we want to be able to come out here and represent ourselves and our value the same way we do on the court, in our contracts, in our facilities, in the standards of the resources that are available to us.' Ogwumike said the players union received a response from the league, which she considered a 'good' development. In October, WNBA players opted out of their collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA still covers the 2025 season. The next step from the union's standpoint is for contracts to be more representative of the league's growth. The current collective bargaining agreement was signed before the 2020 season. 'Everybody wants to go to the same place. Everyone just has a different idea of how we get there,' Ogwumike said. 'But it definitely starts with valuing the players in a way that makes sense for what we're doing out here, and also makes sense for the people that follow us and the fans that are supporting us. We've seen a lot of growth recently, so we have to see that being reflected in how we're compensated to continue to give you guys games like this every night.' Ogwumike added that she is looking forward to whatever meeting between the WNBPA and the league is to come over the next 25 days. In the past, other players have said they are willing to sit out games if negotiations don't lead to a pay structure they feel is fair. Ogwumike is grateful for the support the players union has already received ahead of and amid these negotiations. 'I'm appreciative to our player body, our player reps and the women that are speaking out about this,' Ogwumike said, 'and our board of advisors and PA staff and what they're doing for us to be able to get to a successful, collaborative negotiation with the league.'

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