Paige Bueckers may not have played in the UConn women's basketball's last game, but she remains a fan favorite. On Sunday, a fan page shared an Instagram video showing the Huskies star gratefully receiving a drawing of herself as a gift from an admirer. The post was captioned:
"This drawing is actually insane, some of yall are so talented!!"
No. 7 UConn was without Bueckers in the 73-55 win over Georgetown on Sunday. Bueckers has been sidelined for the last two games after spraining her knee in a controversial play during the 83-52 win over Villanova on Jan. 5.
Geno Auriemma charges UConn players to trust themselves without Paige Bueckers
Despite the absence of UConn senior Paige Bueckers, her teammates have stepped up, securing victories over both Xavier and Georgetown.
Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma announced that Bueckers would not play for a week, but he successfully motivated the team to two Big East victories, with everyone contributing on both ends of the floor.
"These guys have played without people their whole career here, so they take it in stride,” Auriemma said per New Canann Advertiser. “So, there was no looking around. There was no, in practice, hesitancy or apprehension or, you know, ‘Let's look to Paige and where is she?"
"We've been through this so many times, you know, and probably knowing that she'll be back soon, maybe made it a lot easier. I want them to learn to trust themselves, trust each other. Obviously, they know if we have any chance to do something great this year, Paige has to be a part of it. But that doesn't mean that they should pass up opportunities to get better."
Bueckers leads UConn (13-2, 4-0 Big East) in scoring with 19.9 points per game. She also averages 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists on 55.9 percent shooting. While she is expected to return to action for the Huskies this week, the exact timeline remains uncertain. Meanwhile, UConn will travel to Queens, N.Y. to face St. John’s on Wednesday night.
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