Sports
Paige Bueckers aims to make this her final season at UConn … and to go out with a bang
If there’s an overriding lesson from the last four years of Paige Bueckers’ college basketball career, it’s this, she explains: “You never know what each day will bring. You never know what life is gonna throw at you.”
There was a time when Bueckers didn’t necessary think that way, when she assumed her plans would come to pass. Like when she arrived in Storrs, Conn., in the fall of 2020. She knew then that her freshman season — already outlined with the COVID-19 protocols of testing, masks and isolation — wouldn’t look exactly the way she always imagined as a kid. Still, when she thought about the four seasons in front of her, there was a sense of expectation and progress: Four years of healthy play, a few national titles, a graduation and at the end of it, a seat at the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Very little has gone to plan. Bueckers was, in fact, at the 2024 WNBA Draft, but she was there supporting her teammates Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Mühl being drafted. She described the night as “surreal,” having always imagined that the class she entered with alongside Edwards and Mühl would be the class with which she exited. Instead, she’s now watching them begin their WNBA careers on television as she returns to college offseason workouts, using one of the two available redshirt years.
Paige Bueckers supporting her teammates at the #WNBADraft pic.twitter.com/iQnI3sjNht
— The Athletic WBB (@TheAthleticWBB) April 16, 2024
Bueckers has played only two healthy seasons of college basketball, as a freshman, when she was named national Player of the Year, and last season, when she was again an All-American. She has advanced to three Final Fours in four years but never won a title.
She has readjusted her expectations, imagining her name called in the 2025 WNBA Draft. She plans to make the 2024-25 season her last at UConn, she told The Athletic.
“There’s a much larger sense of urgency,” Bueckers said. “This is my last year to get what I came here for, which is a national championship. … No more ‘Passive Paige.’”
As Bueckers enters her final chapter in Storrs, going through her first (and last) college offseason workouts in which she’s completely healthy, she’s focused on definitively shifting her mentality while recognizing the need for flexibility. After all, that’s the lesson the last four years have taught her.
Bueckers’ final shot at a national title will come with some adjustments. Edwards and Mühl are gone. The three returning upperclassmen — Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin and Caroline Ducharme — are coming off injuries. Kaitlyn Chen, a Princeton transfer, is settling into the program after arriving on campus in late May.
But that turnover in roster — nothing new to Bueckers — makes her mental shift that much more important as she prepares to shoulder so much more.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma can point to March to remind Bueckers of her focus. Conversation around Bueckers’ aggressive mentality have been “constant” since she arrived on campus in 2020, he said. But the Huskies’ recent history, an unexpected run to the Final Four, led by Bueckers, provides all the evidence she needs to continue to be a bit more selfish on the floor. Before the Big East tournament, Auriemma said he told Bueckers, “Paige, you need it to get 30 every night. Just make life easier on everybody else. We don’t have a lot of options. We don’t have a lot of choices. So this is what we got. And we can’t be milling around with this stuff.”
In short: No more Passive Paige.
Through five NCAA Tournament games, Bueckers’ game completely elevated. After averaging 21.3 points, 3.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds a game during the regular season, she averaged 25.8 points, 4.6 assists and 8 rebounds a game, pulling the Huskies to their 23rd Final Four.
“I love to score. I’ve always felt like I’m a pass-first player. I love to get my teammates involved. I love to make sure everybody’s happy,” Bueckers said. “But at the end of the day, everyone is happy when we win, and I think we have a better chance of winning when I’m aggressive.”
Added Auriemma: “She’s too nice, too caring about what other people think. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a great, great quality. I just don’t know if it’s a great quality for (a) killer superstar.”
Bueckers has learned too much over the past four seasons to make too many plans. Everything can change in an instant. She knows, because she has been there (multiple times). But with a heightened sense of urgency, she’s approaching this offseason differently. She wants to come in as a better scorer, passer and rebounder. Ask her where her game can improve, and there is no shortage of options that come to Bueckers’ mind: her range, 3-point shooting, off-the-dribble shooting, one-on-one moves, ballhandling, playing off two feet, experimenting with tempo.
She’s trying not to live in the past too much and also not look too far into the future. She hasn’t rewatched the Huskies’ final game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament yet — a loss to Iowa — but she’ll get there. She knows she has to watch it to completely turn the page from last season. Just like the NCAA Tournament, there will be lessons to glean from those 40 minutes, but Bueckers still wonders if she had been just a bit more aggressive, maybe the game would’ve turned out differently. With one final year at UConn, she’ll make sure not to feel that after any game again, she said.
“I want to be an unselfish player, somebody that people love to play with, but at the same time, I’m trying to balance that with also being like, a killer, a scorer, a bucket getter,” she said. “It’s always been a battle of me trying to find the happy medium, but I think for the most part from here on out I gotta be more aggressive first.”
(Photo of Paige Bueckers: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley entered the record books with his performance in a 37-20 over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
Barkley rushed for 255 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He set a record for the most rushing yards in a single game by an Eagles player and finished with the ninth most in a single game. He was four yards away from passing Jamaal Charles, who had 259 rushing yards in a single game. Adrian Peterson has the record with 296 yards.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Barkley, who has had a resurgence this season, was the sparkplug Philadelphia needed. He ran for a 70-yard touchdown to jumpstart the team coming out of halftime.
He put the exclamation point on the game in the fourth quarter. He received the hand off from Hurts, made a move and zoomed through the Rams’ secondary for 72 yards.
Barkley also had four catches for 47 yards.
Kenneth Gainwell added a touchdown of his own late in the third to add to their lead.
Jalen Hurts was 15-of-22 for 179 yards and had a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. The star wide receiver had six catches for 109 yards.
JOSH JACOBS SCORES 3 TOUCHDOWNS AS PACKERS DOMINATE INJURY-RIDDLED 49ERS
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) passes against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Los Angeles was within six points of the lead after Matthew Stafford threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson with 10:51 left in the third quarter. But after the Gainwell touchdown, the Rams missed a field goal on their next drive and punted after that.
Stafford threw a garbage-time touchdown to Cooper Kupp but the offense was far from what it needed to be to compete against the high-octane offense of the Eagles. They had no answer for Barkley.
The veteran quarterback had 243 passing yards on 24-of-36 passing. Puka Nacua led the team with nine catches for 117 yards. It’s the second straight game Nacua was over 100 yards receiving.
The Eagles (9-2) increased their NFC East lead over the Washington Commanders, moving two wins over them in the win column. The Commanders fell to the Dallas Cowboys in a barnburner earlier in the day.
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles fell to 5-6 as the NFC West continued to be as competitive as ever. The Seattle Seahawks picked up a win over the Arizona Cardinals while the San Francisco 49ers fell to the Green Bay Packers.
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The Dodgers’ World Series trophy was in the house. So was Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles.
Also on hand Sunday night at SoFi Stadium were members of the St. Louis Rams’ 1999 Super Bowl championship team, including four Hall of Fame players from an offense known as “The Greatest Show on Turf.”
Despite their presence, the Rams demonstrated once again that they cannot yet be considered championship material — not at least with what consistently has been a less-than-great offense and a defense that got steamrolled by Philadelphia Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley.
Barkley amassed 302 total yards as the Eagles rolled past the Rams 37-20 before a crowd of 74,400 — about half of them Eagles fans.
The defeat dropped the Rams’ record to 5-6. Though unimpressive, it is not a death knell for the Rams’ playoff hopes, especially with the Arizona Cardinals (6-5) and San Francisco 49ers (5-6) both losing Sunday.
The Rams have six games left, starting next Sunday at New Orleans.
Rams cornerback Cobie Durant trips up Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second quarter.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
They then will face the Buffalo Bills at home before traveling to play the 49ers in a key NFC West game. They finish with a road game against the New York Jets and home games against the Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks (6-5).
The Rams probably won’t be bound for the postseason, however, unless they eliminate momentum-killing turnovers, protect Stafford better and become more consistent in the kicking game.
On Sunday, a Rams defense that had performed fairly well in a defeat by the Miami Dolphins and a victory over the New England Patriots could not handle Barkley. The seventh-year pro rushed for 255 yards in 26 carries and scored on runs of 70 and 72 yards in the second half. He caught four passes for 47 yards as the Eagles won their seventh game in a row and improved to 9-2.
Stafford completed 24 of 36 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns on a night the Rams went 0 for 8 on third down. Stafford was sacked five times
Puka Nacua caught nine passes for 117 yards. Cooper Kupp caught eight passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.
A.J. Brown catches a touchdown pass past Rams safety Quentin Lake to give the Eagles the halftime lead.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The Rams led 7-3 in the first quarter on Kyren Williams’ short touchdown run, but the Eagles kicked a field goal and scored a touchdown on a pass from Jalen Hurts to receiver A.J. Brown to take a 13–7 lead at halftime.
Minutes after the 1990s band Smash Mouth played at halftime, Barkley smashed the Rams in the mouth.
On the first play of the third quarter, he took a handoff from Hurts, broke through the line of scrimmage and cut the right sideline en route to a 70-yard touchdown that increased the Eagles’ halftime lead to 20-7.
The Rams answered with Stafford’s short touchdown pass to receiver Demarcus Robinson.
Then Barkley struck again.
He caught a short pass from Hurts and turned it into a 31-yard gain to the Rams’ 14-yard line. On the next play, Kenneth Gainwell rushed for a touchdown and a 27-14 lead.
On the ensuing possession, the Rams drove to the Eagles’ 15 but after a holding penalty and a sack, Joshua Karty missed wide right on a 47-yard field goal attempt.
The Eagles added a field goal, and late in the fourth quarter Barkley broke free again for a 72-yard touchdown.
The Rams added a late touchdown on a 27-yard pass from Stafford to Kupp.
NORMAN, Okla. — No. 7 Alabama (8-3) saw its College Football Playoff and SEC title hopes take a big hit in a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma (6-5) at OU Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe completed just two passes in the first half before finishing 11-for-26 for 164 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The Crimson Tide’s first two drives of the third quarter resulted in Milroe interceptions, the second of which was returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Oklahoma’s Kip Lewis. Oklahoma outgained Alabama 325 yards to 234, driven largely by the Sooners’ 257 rushing yards.
“We finally did the things that winning requires,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said after the game. “All three phases, they complemented each other. They punched first and punched back. Tonight, we finally punched last.”
This was the lowest-scoring output for the Crimson Tide since a 20-3 loss to South Carolina in 2004. Alabama hasn’t lost to an unranked team by 21-plus points since the 1998 Music City Bowl against Virginia Tech (38-7).
The Crimson Tide are 1-3 on the road against SEC opponents this season, while the Sooners secured their first Power 4 win since Sept. 28 against Auburn.
“The harder it is, the more epic the story.”
Brent Venables after @OU_Football‘s win over No. 7 Alabama 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Dytz9r0FQa
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 24, 2024
What does this mean for Alabama’s postseason hopes?
The Tide no longer control their own destiny and are now a Playoff long shot. They had the inside path to the CFP as the second-highest-ranked SEC team, with a 5-5 Oklahoma team and 4-6 Auburn team left on the schedule. That’s all been blown up.
CFP-wise, the Tide will now fall behind Georgia, which won Saturday and has just two losses, as well as Tennessee, which has a win against Alabama. Losses by Indiana, Ole Miss, BYU, Texas A&M and Colorado on Saturday could help the Tide from falling too far back and keep them on the fringes of the at-large mix, but getting a first-round home is off the table. The big winner from Saturday’s madness could be the ACC’s hopes of getting two bids. According to The Athletic’s projections model, Alabama fell from a 76 percent chance to make the Playoff before Week 13 to just an 11 percent chance after the loss to Oklahoma.
Alabama’s SEC championship hopes are also gone with three conference losses. Georgia will meet the winner of Texas-Texas A&M in Atlanta.
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What does this mean for Oklahoma?
It’s been a rough season for the Sooners, who hadn’t won a game against an FBS opponent since September, but getting to bowl eligibility and a marquee win on Senior Night has to feel good. For as bad as the year has gone, through all the quarterback problems and offensive issues, the defense kept playing hard and kept the Sooners in games. Two interceptions led directly to 14 points, including a pick-six to go up three scores.
Oklahoma’s 257 rushing yards were the most allowed by Alabama this year. Quarterback Jackson Arnold didn’t do much in the passing game (68 yards total), but he didn’t have to. The offensive coordinator search remains ongoing, and the Sooners can’t have another season like this, but it’s something to feel good about as Venables heads into an offseason needing to fix the program.
Kip doesn’t like teams from Alabama…@KipLewis9 | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/jCLU5BjI6G
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 24, 2024
An all-too-familiar fate for Alabama on the road this season
Vanderbilt. Tennessee. Now Oklahoma. Alabama’s three road losses have a common thread: costly turnovers. The latest misfortunes came in a game that might have eliminated the Tide from the Playoff.
Three second-half interceptions by Milroe arrived at critical times. Milroe’s 11-for-26 passing stat line with three turnovers mark his worst performance of the season. It was one part of an all-around, flat offensive performance — 234 yards, just 70 on the ground, and only 4.1 yards per play.
Oklahoma’s top-ranked rushing defense was keyed in on Milroe-designed runs from the start, allowing three rushing yards on his first eight carries. Milroe finished with just seven rushing yards on 15 attempts while Jam Miller and Justice Haynes combined for 15 carries total. Without that element, Alabama’s offense couldn’t establish any momentum. It didn’t hurt that there were a myriad of mental errors that cost the offense positive plays from drops, missed assignments and penalties.
Defensively, Saturday’s loss felt similar to Alabama’s first road loss at Vanderbilt — out-played at the line of scrimmage and out-game planned against a sound rushing attack. Despite an 83rd national rank in rush offense, Oklahoma gained over 250 yards on the ground, 128 of them by quarterback Jackson Arnold, who only passed for 68 yards.
It was a summation of Alabama’s season to date — dominant at times, appearing capable of playing with anyone, and other times disjointed where errors compile on each other which creates sometimes insurmountable deficits. There’s no other way to look at Saturday’s game as a collapse in a crucial spot, but not a moment that’s been unfamiliar this season-highs followed by lows.
How did Oklahoma win the game? Turning its season on its head
Oklahoma’s season has been marred by misfortune, but Saturday night had all of the elements for a top-10 upset. The Sooners were off by a bye, hosting Alabama on Senior Night with bowl eligibility on the line. On the field, Oklahoma turned its weaknesses into strengths.
Oklahoma entered Saturday night having given up the most sacks (41) and fourth-most tackles for loss (80) in the country. Saturday? Zero sacks allowed and four tackles for loss allowed.
Oklahoma entered Saturday with the 86th-ranked rushing offense in the country (143 yards per game). Saturday? 270 rushing yards on 2.3 yards per carry.
Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 73rd in turnover margin (minus-1) and 107th in turnovers lost (18). Saturday? Oklahoma won the turnover battle by a plus-1 margin and scored 14 points off turnovers.
Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 105th nationally in time of possession (28 minutes). Saturday? Behind its dominant run game, the Sooners converted 7-of-15 third-down tries and held the ball for over 35 minutes.
In a day of home underdogs pulling off upsets, Venables delivered a signature win and a subsequent field storming, Oklahoma’s first since 2000.
The play that defined the 4th quarter
For a brief moment, it appeared Alabama regained momentum to start a comeback. On a fourth-and-2, down 24-3 with 14:13 to play, Milroe rolled out and found Ryan Williams about 40 yards downfield for a highlight-level touchdown with Williams getting one foot down in the corner of the end zone. However, the officiating crew threw a flag for illegal touching on Williams, wiping away the score.
Alabama thought they scored on this fourth down play from Ryan Williams but the play was overturned due to illegal touching. pic.twitter.com/25U0QuLjQH
— ESPN (@espn) November 24, 2024
It was a puzzling call in the moment and on replay, as Williams didn’t appear to be out of order pre-snap or during the play, but after the initial call and a referee meeting, the call stood and Oklahoma took over on downs. Alabama never reached Oklahoma territory again.
(Photo: David Stacy / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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