Paige Bueckers Dominates In UConn's Exhibition Victory Over Fort Hays State
The UConn Huskies unofficially began their new season on Sunday with an exhibition victory over Fort Hays State.
Senior superstar guard Paige Bueckers was near-perfect, scoring 27 points on 12-for-14 from the field to go along with nine rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Bueckers played 27 minutes.
As Stamford Advocate’s Maggie Vanoni pointed out, the exhibition was a good opportunity for UConn’s legendary head coach Geno Auriemma to find out some things about his team.
“The No. 2 Huskies debuted their 2024-25 squad Sunday afternoon in an exhibition against Fort Hays State,” Vanoni said. “Despite a slow first quarter, the 89-49 win allowed Geno Auriemma to test out various lineups and get four of his five newcomers’ feet wet before the team's official season opener Thursday against Boston University.”
"I think the reason you play exhibition games is to kind of get out in public for the first time so you expect your veteran players to play like veterans, and you expect your young players to be a little bit nervous in the beginning," Auriemma said, per Vanoni. "So, all of our veterans played great. I thought Paige was fantastic."
Speaking on Bueckers’ aggressive approach to the exhibition game, Auriemma said it’s a sign of things to come this season.
"This is kind of what Paige wants to do. Exactly what she did today, that's how she wants to play," Auriemma said, per Vanoni. "And I'm sure that that's something she's going to try to do every game, if she can."
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Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "UConn Huskies On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "UConn Huskies On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org