"I love it here": Paige Bueckers reacts to her grand entrance at UConn Huskies' First Night

Paige Bueckers is all set for her final college season with the UConn Huskies. The team was presented during the First Night on Friday and Bueckers received the most cheers from fans as she entered the Gampel Pavilion in blue shades.

The guard also shared the moment on social media via her Instagram story, with the caption:

"I love it here"

Paige Bueckers Instagram story (Credit: Instagram/@paigebueckers)

Watch the video here:

While fans and the UConn players were excited for the night, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma was more cautious as he spoke about looking to the long journey ahead of them.

“There's nothing to be excited about,” Auriemma said. “For people who don't coach and people that are not in this world, the first two weeks of practice in October, there's absolutely nothing to be excited about.

"The excitement will start when we get a little bit better, when we start playing games, when we start to find out exactly what it is that we've got.”

The Huskies lost three players to injury last season and they are yet to be confirmed for a return this season. In addition to this, UConn also lost Ayanna Patterson ahead of the First Night event. Auriemma revealed that the red-shirt sophomore forward “whacked” her shoulder and is still in a sling.

“We took a big step back in experience wise,” Auriemma said. " There's just a bunch of freshmen and sophomores. When it looks good, it's really, really, really good, like, really good.

"And then all of a sudden, it'll just, you know, completely go the other way. But that's to be expected right now. But when it's good, it's really good.”

---

Paige Bueckers prepares for her last shot at the NCAA championship

In her graduate senior year, the 2024-25 season will be Paige Bueckers' last chance to end the UConn Huskies championship drought. The team is ranked second in AP Top 25 women's basketball preseason poll behind South Carolina.

The Huskies have the pieces needed for a championship run, but South Carolina trumps in the experience department as most players from the 2024 NCAA championship win have returned for another season. The pressure is on Paige Bueckers to lead the team just like she did last season, where she averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.4 blocks.

Bueckers has previously discussed the urgency she feels to win a championship, but the road to San Antonio, Texas is tough with heavy competition.