Paige Bueckers Effect: DePaul breaks attendance records as UConn visits Chicago 

Paige Bueckers has done it again. The college basketball star reminded everyone of her immense popularity on Wednesday, with DePaul breaking its home game attendance record in the showdown against the UConn Huskies at Wintrust Arena.

Hearst Media Group's UConn women's basketball reporter Maggie Vanoni shared on X/Twitter that the announced attendance for the Huskies' game against the Blue Demons was 8,305. It broke the previous attendance record for a women's college basketball game at Wintrust Arena by nearly 600.

UConn's game against DePaul fell just short of drawing a sold-out crowd, with WinTrust Arena having a capacity of 10,387 people. That being said, the number of fans who made the trip to watch Bueckers live in the Windy City is still impressive. DePaul's previous home game attendance record was 6,523, which the Blue Demons set in 2022 against Howard.

Fans saw 26 minutes of action from Bueckers, who was rested by Geno Auriemma starting in the third quarter. She finished the game with just eight points, which matched her lowest output for the season. She shot 2-for-10 from the field, including 1-for-3 from beyond the arc. Bueckers also had three rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block on the night.

Azzi Fudd and Kaitlyn Chen step up amid Paige Bueckers' offensive struggles

This was just the second time this season that Bueckers failed to score in double figures for the No. 6 UConn Huskies. She also scored eight points in UConn's 85-52 win over the Louisville Cardinals in the Women's Champions Classic on Dec. 7.

Bueckers entered the game in fine form, averaging 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per contest. She leads UConn in scoring and assists this campaign. Fortunately for the Huskies, their other starters picked up the slack on the offensive end.

UConn Huskies guards Azzi Fudd (#35) and Paige Bueckers (#5) celebrate after their win over the Louisville Cardinals at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Photo: Imagn

Azzi Fudd bounced back from her poor showing in UConn's last game against Creighton, scoring 17 points in the 84-58 win over DePaul. She shot 6-for-12 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from the 3-point area. Fudd also contributed in other departments, dishing out five assists and grabbing four rebounds.

Kaitlyn Chen matched Fudd's offensive production, scoring 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting. She was lights out from beyond the arc, knocking down all three of her 3-point attempts. Chen has been on fire lately, averaging 14.3 points in the Huskies' last three games.

The Huskies ran out with an 84-58 win over the Blue Demons on Wednesday night.