Paige Bueckers is going to go down as an all-time great for UConn and women's college basketball.
However, there is one thing missing from Bueckers' impressive collegiate resume heading into Sunday's national title game: a national championship.
The redshirt senior has a chance to rectify that with a win over No. 1 seed South Carolina in the 2025 women's NCAA Tournament championship game, held at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Despite having one more year of eligibility due to COVID-19, Sunday's national championship will be Bueckers' final collegiate game. She is heading to the WNBA and is widely projected as the No. 1 overall pick.
Here's everything you need to know about if Bueckers has ever won a national championship:
Has Paige Bueckers won an NCAA national championship?
The Huskies have not won a national championship since 2016. Bueckers arrived in 2020 with the hopes of ending that drought. UConn has had its opportunities to claim that elusive national title, making the Final Four in four of five seasons with Bueckers.
That doesn't include a Sweet 16 exit in the 2023 women's NCAA Tournament (when Bueckers missed her entire junior year with a torn ACL). She also appeared in just 17 games in her sophomore season due to injuries.
Bueckers and UConn lost to Dawn Staley and South Carolina 64-49 in the 2022 national championship game, which marked Auriemma's first-ever loss in the title game after he started with a perfect 11-0 record. The championship game Sunday will be Bueckers' second of her career.
“I think everything in life has kind of taught me not to take things for granted,” Bueckers said Saturday. “Being in the national championship game, it's extremely hard to get to and extremely rewarding to be a part of.”
