Paige Bueckers uses wordplay to congratulate Sarah Strong on Freshman of the Year award

UConn star Paige Bueckers used cheeky wordplay to congratulate her teammate Sarah Strong who was named Freshman of the Year by The Athletic on Wednesday. Bueckers reposted Strong's achievement on her Instagram story and capitalized a few letters in her message in what appeared to be an inside joke.

"pRAHda you," Bueckers wrote on her IG story.

Image Credits - paigebueckers Instagram

Strong has transitioned well into college basketball after leaving Grace Christian High School. She finished her first regular season at UConn averaging 16.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma heaped praise on Strong's desire to learn when he appeared on "The Athletic Women's Basketball Show," on Feb. 21.

"Sarah loves being coached, Sarah looks right through you, like right into your soul when you're talking to her," Auriemma said. "She loves being coached, she asks a lot of questions, she wants to learn more than anything in the world."

Auriemma also spoke about the difference between coaching Strong in her first year with Buecker.

"Strong is a 180 from Nika [Muhl] and Paige [Bueckers] when they were freshmen, when I had to convince them that I knew what I was talking about," Auriemma said. "I actually made this comment one time to Paige when she was a freshman. I said 'Listen: I'm so grateful that after 35 years of coaching, I finally had somebody come to my program that could show me everything I was doing wrong. So I can't tell you how grateful I am for this experience.'"

Strong and Bueckers are now expected to play key roles for No. 3 UConn (28-3, 18-0) in the postseason after leading the team to the Big East regular season title.

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Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong named as finalists for College Basketball Hall of Fame awards

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers - Source: Getty

While Sarah Strong is only just getting started at UConn, Paige Bueckers is playing in her final season for the Huskies. However, the two have been named as finalists for some top individual honors this season.

Bueckers is one of five finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is a recognition given to the best point guard. She previously won that award as a freshman in 2021. Meanwhile, Strong is the only freshman who made it to the list of finalists for the Cheryl Miller Award, a prize given to the nation’s best small forward.

Paige Bueckers is playing her final year at UConn before she declares for the 2025 WNBA draft. This season, she is averaging 18.6 points, 5.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.