Women's Fastbreak On SI

Paige Bueckers Was Everything Tearful Fort Hays Player Feared in Dominant UConn Win

UConn Huskies superstar Paige Bueckers made her bawling opponent's pregame prediction come true on Sunday.

Grant Young

Mar 25, 2024; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts after her basket against the Syracuse Orange in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Mar 25, 2024; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts after her basket against the Syracuse Orange in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

While most of the women's college basketball community probably hadn't heard about Fort Hays State before this weekend, they likely have now.

Fort Hays played the UConn Huskies on Sunday in what is the final exhibition game UConn had on their schedule before their 2024-25 regular season begins against Boston University on November 7.

On Thursday, guard Talexa Weeter went viral on social media after posting a photo of her crying on TikTok with the caption, "when I get on a 100 on my test but the narp next to me gets to participate in halloweekend while i'm getting my ankles obliterated by paige bueckers".

Weeter's hilarious prediction came true in the worst way for her and her Fort Hays teammates on Sunday, as UConn dominated them by a score of 89-49.

And Bueckers was a big part of this fantastic performance, as she finished the game with 27 points (19 of which came in the first half) on 12-14 shooting from the field while also grabbing 9 rebounds.

And fans on social media noted that Bueckers took it to Weeter specifically.

"paige scored on her head the minute she checked in btw 😭😭😭😭😭," X user @saisdiary001 wrote in a reply to Weeter's aforementioned TikTok post.

Another fan added, "And y’all thought she spent the summer traveling too much," which was a reference to Bueckers' busy offseason that included a lot of travel.

A third fan added, "Paige Bueckers with a healthy offseason to work on her game," along with a gif of LeBron James and John Wall.

While UConn's competition will only be ramping up from Fort Hays State, Sunday's game is a great indication that Bueckers is poised to be one of college basketball's best players once again this season.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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