Paige Bueckers eclipses Maya Moore as UConn star sets NCAA record for alma mater in championship game 

UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers got her storybook ending to her coveted college basketball career on Sunday. UConn snapped its nine-year national championship drought with an 82-59 beatdown of the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks to win the NCAA title.

As she wrapped up her fourth year under Geno Auriemma, Bueckers snared the only thing missing from her stacked resume. But perhaps another testament to her college greatness is the fact she set another program record during the winner-take-all game.

According to ESPN women's basketball analyst Alexa Philippou, Bueckers eclipsed WNBA legend Maya Moore for the most career NCAA Tournament points by a UConn player at 477, surpassing Moore's 476.

With another record and accolade going Bueckers' way, she cemented her legacy with all-time UConn greats such as Moore, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and many more who since became women's basketball legends. Given how she fared in her four-year collegiate stint, the Hopkins, Minnesota, native might just be on the trajectory there as well.

Bueckers also finished just behind the Tennessee Volunteers' Chamique Holdsclaw (479 points) and Iowa Hawkeyes icon-turned Indiana Fever standout Caitlin Clark (492) for the most points by any player in March Madness history.

It was a success-filled 2024-2025 season for Bueckers and Co. as they finished with a dominant 37-3 record (18-0 in the Big East) en route to the program's 12th national championship, its first since 2016.

Paige Bueckers' expected top pick selection in the 2025 WNBA draft is now backed by national title

Throughout the 2024-2025 season, Paige Bueckers was hailed by many as the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, which is slated for April 14. Along with the national title to cap off her illustrious college hoops career, the spitfire scorer also amassed her program's 11th straight Big East conference regular season championship and conference tournament title.

In her fourth and final year with the UConn Huskies, Bueckers averaged a team-high 20.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per contest. In her final outing during the national championship game, she dropped 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks in 38 minutes.