"She's pouting over there so let's give her the ball": Geno Auriemma breaks down how Paige Bueckers runs the UConn offense

UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers just played her final home game at XL Center on Thursday. Her timely contributions aided the fifth-ranked team in the nation to a 19-point victory over the No. 22 Creighton Bluejays, 72-53, to clinch the 2025 Big East conference regular season championship in dominant fashion.

Bueckers, once again, was one of the focal points for the Geno Auriemma-coached squad as she dropped 15 markers on 6-for-13 overall shooting, seven rebounds, seven assists and a block in 37 minutes of action. In her likely final collegiate campaign, the Hopkins, Minnesota native is once again fueling her team to a successful year.

During the postgame press conference, Auriemma was asked about how he feels toward the fourth-year star's surge in playmaking and tallying assists. The 70-year-old said that this was an emphasis on their gameplan, one that was propelled by Bueckers' need for the basketball.

"We made a concerted effort to put the ball in her hands more often," Auriemma explained (11:04). "She kind of forced us to do it because she refused to run up the floor when she didn't get the outlet pass. So, if we didn't put the ball in her hands, she wasn't going to run up there anyways, so we're like, 'What's the point? She wants the ball in her hand.'

"She's pouting over there, so let's give her the ball. Let her do what she wants with it, and because she has it in her hands a lot more now, she has the ability to kind of dictate where the ball is going to go. Kaitlyn (Chen) and KK (Arnold), they're fine. Just spring up the floor, and so, Paige is playing the way she wants to play."

Auriemma and the rest of the Huskies now look on to their final regular season game against the unranked Marquette Golden Eagles on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion.

Paige Bueckers is leading the UConn Huskies in scoring once again this season

In her fourth and probable final year with the UConn Huskies, Paige Bueckers is once more leading the program in scoring, while she has drastically improved her playmaking as well. On the campaign, the 6-foot sensation is averaging a team-high 18.7 points to go with 4.4 boards, 4.8 dimes and 2.1 swipes per contest.

Bueckers has racked up a plethora of accolades already to wrap up her college career strong, which will be integral in her bid to be the top pick in the 2025 WNBA draft. She is hoping that she and her team could pull out all the stops this year and win her first and final national title.