Paige Bueckers News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/paige-bueckers/ Minnesota sports, but different Mon, 24 Nov 2025 19:28:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Paige Bueckers News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/paige-bueckers/ 32 32 New Team USA Coach Looking to Right Cheryl Reeve’s Wrongs https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-lynx/kara-lawson-caitlin-clark-addition-team-usa-roster-cheryl-reeve-out/ Mon, 24 Nov 2025 18:31:03 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=72995 There are few people connected to modern day women’s basketball who have been more influential on the sport than than Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. However, she may have overstayed her welcome as coach of Team USA last year, when she left Caitlin Clark off the Olympic roster.

The next competition of note for Team USA women’s basketball is the 2026 FIBA World Cup, which is set to tip-off place 10 months from now, in September 2026.

Kara Lawson invites Caitlin Clark to Team USA

Fortunately for Team USA fans, Reeve is no longer coaching the women’s national team, and her successor — Duke head coach Kara Lawson — who she was named to lead Team USA a couple of months ago. And one of her first acts as new head coach, is to right Reeve’s most egregious wrong.

Because when camp opens for Team USA in Durham next month, Caitlin Clark will be in the house, along with fellow rising young superstars Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese and JuJu Watkins..

Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese and JuJu Watkins will be among the 10 players making their USA Basketball senior national team camp debuts next month, when the storied basketball program hosts a training camp at Duke University from Dec. 12-14.

ESPN

Last WNBA season, Clark — who won Rookie of the year in 2024 — watched as her Indiana Fever lost in the WNBA Finals, despite her being injured for much of the season and all of the postseason. Caitlin Year played in just 13 games in 2025.

Minnesota native, 2025 1st overall pick, and reigning Rookie of the Year winner Paige Bueckers will get her first shot at the Team USA roster, as well, as will Angel Reese and Juju Watkins.

MN Lynx building towards 2026

The Minnesota Lynx finished 2025 with a 34-10 record, which was the best record in the WNBA. They have won the Western Conference each of the past two seasons, but have not claimed a Finals trophy to show for it.

Thankfully for Minnesota, the Lynx landed the second overall pick in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft. Azzi Fudd (Iowa State), Awa Fam (Spain), Olivia Miles (TCU), Lauren Betts (UCLA), and Flau’jae Johnson (LSU) are among the top prospects.

In 2026, the MN Lynx will look to rebound from an unceremonious playoff exit in 202, which ended with Reeve being suspended after attacking officials in on of the final games of the year, after superstar Napheesa Collier was dropped to the ground on a late game steal that sent the HOF PoBO off her rocker.

In the days that followed, Minnesota’s MVP-contender spoke out against the league and their guidance for referees. Unfortunately, it did not result in another chance to win playoff games.

]]> Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:28:55 +0000 Minnesota Lynx One of Us WNBA Star Goes Off in Historic Fashion https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-lynx/paige-bueckers-wnba-scoring-record-rookie/ Thu, 21 Aug 2025 13:57:47 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=67065 The WNBA has never been a more exciting product than it is right now. Caitlin Clark hasn’t even been on the floor for the Indiana Fever and yet their tickets are selling like hotcakes.

Cheryl Reeve has the Minnesota Lynx playing good basketball. They currently own the best record in the sport, and they are doing it without superstar Napheesa Collier as she recovers from an ankle sprain.

Despite all that is happening on the court for the Lynx, it was Minnesota-native Paige Bueckers that is now taking the league by storm.

Paige Bueckers sets new WNBA rookie record

Hopkins, Minnesota native Paige Bueckers was the first overall pick by the Dallas Wings in this year’s WNBA draft. The Connecticut National Champion has played in 29 games this season, but none has been better than Wednesday night.

Not only had a WNBA player not scored 40 points in a game this year, but Bueckers surpassed that plateau and then some. She also did it as a rookie. The scoring outburst came against the Los Angeles Sparks, but resulted in a loss. Star veteran Kelsey Plum had some thoughts postgame after watching the rookie guard have her way with them.

She is averaging 34 minutes per game and 19.7 points this year. Her 47.4% field goal rate is solid, and she’s shooting 33.7% from deep.

Bueckers was dominant in college for UConn and averaged 19.8 points per game as an amateur. Only a season-ending knee injury kept her off the court, and she returned to be an immediate All-American the final two years of her collegiate career.

Related: MN Lynx Star Joins Rarefied Air With Latest Ranking

Across 123 collegiate games, Bueckers scored 40 points just once. She had 12 games with 30-or-more points as well. With Bueckers and Clark as young stars capable of filling up the stat sheet, the WNBA continues to be in a good place.

Of course, both of them will need to go battle tested veterans like Collier and teams such as the Lynx if they intend to win anything beyond individual awards.

]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2025 08:57:50 +0000 Minnesota Lynx Paige Bueckers Chose UConn Over Being MN’s Caitlin Clark… But Don’t Tell That to the Internet https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/2024-gophers-wbb-paige-bueckers-minnesota-caitlin-clark/ Mon, 08 Apr 2024 02:56:13 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=49568 I knew nothing something bad might happen if I started watching women’s basketball… and I was 100% wrong. Because I watched the Iowa Hawkeyes vs Connecticut Huskies the other night and it led to a tweet that has reached over 1 million views and counting.

How did I do that, you ask? Well, it all started with an illegal screen set by a lady UConn Huskie, late in the women’s final four matchup mentioned above. Yes it was an illegal screen. An obvious illegal screen. Her legs were still moving and she stuck her elbow out. Obvious offensive foul.

The rest of Minnesota basketball twitter, however, did not agree at the time. Why, you ask? It looks pretty clearn and obvious, right? Why would they refuse to see what was so obvious during a game between Iowa and UConn? Well, because it ruined an opportunity for Hopkins’ own, Paige Bueckers, to hit a last-second game-winning shot.

Bueckers was a high school girls basketball phenom from the 2020 class, ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in the entire country, at the time. No doubt the type of talent that could have put the Minnesota Gophers women’s basketball program back on the national map all by herself. A talent that, dare I say, could have brought the same type of Caitlin Clark phenom atmosphere to Dinkytown?

Paige Bueckers chose UConn over Minnesota… but don’t say it out loud.

But… that’s not what happened. Bueckers, like most other young basketball phenoms from this state, chose to play elsewhere, UConn, in here case. Shortly thereafter, following 20-wins in five of seven seasons between 2013 and 2019, the University of Minnesota women’s basketball program cratered. Good for her, you might say. Smart move, got out just at the right time, right?

I don’t necessarily disagree. Nonetheless, I used Twitter to remind people that Paige could have tried to do for for Minnesota what Caitlin Clark did for Iowa. Raise it to places it had never been before. Perfectly reasonable take, given the player Bueckers is.

Well… Twitter lost its mind.

Go ahead, dive into that mess… you won’t regret it. And let’s just be clear. I do not think Paige should have based her decision on anything other than what she wanted. This is America, after all. And the best part about living in this country is that you can make choices that are best for you, and feel good about them. Paige is going to be a top-5 draft pick, even after an injury-riddled college career. Things seem to have worked out just fine.

Why would I be a fan of UConn’s Paige Bueckers?

But that freedom works the other way, too. If you’re a Minnesota athlete who chooses to cold-shoulder the Gophers and play your college ball elsewhere, I won’t be cheering for you. Because, believe it or not, my Minnesota sports fandom is not based on former MN high school athletes.

Related: Ben Johnson on Hot Seat? Mark Coyle Angry Gophers Missed NCAA Tournament Again

Not Paige, or Chet Holmgren, Jalen Suggs… the Jones’ brothers from Apple Valley (except while Tyus played for the Wolves, that was fun). Want to know why? Because I am not a UConn fan, or Gonzaga fan, or Duke fan. By some people’s logic, I should be a huge Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball fan, since most of their team is from Lakeville.

But I’m not. I am a Minnesota sports fan ONLY. And if that hurts other Minnesota sports fans’ feelings… I guess they’ll have to get over it? Maybe don’t follow me on Twitter, if it bothers them that much? Because I’m obviously not interested in changing.

Anyway, happy Sunday to everyone except former D1 MN high school athletes who chose to play somewhere other than Dinkytown.

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