James Harden's girlfriend Paije Speights drops 3-word reaction as Paige Bueckers' 40-point show sends UConn to Elite Eight

By Sameer Khan

Modified Mar 30, 2025 12:59 GMT

James Harden’s girlfriend, Paije Speights, dropped a one-word reaction to Paige Bueckers’ 40-point explosion against the Oklahoma Sooners. Bueckers and Co. defeated the Sooners 82-59 to book their place in the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight.

The 23-year-old was phenomenal, recording 40 points, six rebounds and an assist to lead her team to victory.

Paije Speights couldn’t help but acknowledge Bueckers’ stellar performance as she took to Instagram to drop a one-word reaction.

“Paige Bueckers. wow,” Speights wrote.

James Harden's girlfriend's reaction to Paige Bueckers' 40-point night

Apart from Bueckers, Sarah Strong was also key for the Huskies, recording 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. The Huskies will face JuJu Watkins’ USC Trojans for their Elite Eight game on Monday. The Trojans will be shorthanded for this game as they lost Watkins to an ACL tear on Monday.

Bueckers, who is having a phenomenal run, will look to keep things rolling as she hopes to lead the Huskies to the NCAA championship. The 23-year-old has made 120 appearances for UConn, recording 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Most mock drafts have Bueckers entering the WNBA as the number one pick in 2025. Paige looks ready to make a lot of noise in the WNBA. She is the only player across college, the NBA, and the WNBA to shoot 50/40/90 splits this season.

"Your heart breaks for her”: Paige Bueckers on JuJu Watkins’ season-ending ACL injury

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Having suffered an ACL injury herself, Paige Bueckers sent a heartfelt message to JuJu Watkins following team practice on Friday:

“Your heart breaks for her, just the devastation."

She added:

“You just empathize for her, because I’ve been in that position before, where you have this devastating injury. She had it at a time where it’s just the worst timing when you are playing for a national championship ... so you just feel for her."

With two more years of college left, Watkins has enough time to get up to speed for her turn in the WNBA draft.

About the author

Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.

Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik's meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.

Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.

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Edited by Krutik Jain