Paige Bueckers Becomes First Woman to Win Wooden Award as Freshman

Paige Bueckers is the first woman to win the Wooden Award as a freshman after a dominant 2020-21 season at UConn.

Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

UConn freshman Paige Bueckers became the first woman to win the Wooden Award as a freshman on Monday. 

Bueckers joins former Huskies star Maya Moore as one of two women underclassmen to ever win the Wooden Award. UConn has claimed six Wooden Awards since the honor was first awarded to a woman in 2004. 

"It means everything to me to win these individual awards, but it's a true testament to our whole team and everything that they've done for me," Bueckers told ESPN. "The coaching staff, for them to put me in this position, I'm just extremely thankful."

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UConn's freshman sensation led the Huskies with 20 points and 5.8 assists per game in 2020-21. She shot 52.4 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from three, scoring at least 20 points 14 times. Bueckers scored 18 points in UConn's Final Four loss to Arizona on April 2. 

Bueckers also earned the Associated Press Player of the Year honor as well as the Naismith Trophy following her standout season. She is the first freshman to win the Naismith Award since it debuted in 1983.

Moore and former UConn forward Breanna Stewart each won two Wooden Awards in their time with the Huskies. Sabrina Ionescu won the Wooden Award with Oregon in 2018-19 and 2019-20.