After Caitlin Clark burst into the women’s basketball scene, it looked like the sport had gotten its messiah. But little did anyone know that another superstar was in the making within the NCAA. And when Paige Bueckers made her debut last year, the entire world sat up and took notice. Not only did the 23-year-old win the Rookie of the Year award, but she also went on to break a ton of records.
Dropping 44 points against the Los Angeles Sparks, she broke the previous single-game rookie scoring record in the league. Bueckers is now also the fastest in WNBA history to reach the 500 points and 150 assists milestone. Additionally, the Dallas Wings’ star fell just two votes short of having a unanimous Rookie of the Year selection.
However, while she continues with her surge, it was the initial milestones in her career that shaped the Minnesota-born into the champion that she is today.
10. 2020-21 Sweep Of The National Player of The Year Awards
Playing for the UConn Huskies, Geno Auriemma’s favorite student took the team to new heights. And her excellence was visible right from the first year itself. Playing in the 2020-21 season as a freshman, Bueckers completed a clean sweep of the year-end awards. She dropped a whopping 581 points and 168 assists across 29 games to clinch the AP, Naismith, Wooden, and USBWA National Player of the Year awards.
9. Fastest UConn Star To Reach 2000 Points Milestone
Back on January 19, 2025, the 2025 NCAA champion went on to establish herself as a Huskies legend. Suiting up for just 102 games, she raced to 2000 points for the program, as UConn registered an easy 96-36 win over the Seton Hall Pirates.
Paige Bueckers got a ball before the game for reaching 2,000 career points pic.twitter.com/qViq8pIbjQ
— UConn Women’s Basketball Videos (@SNYUConn) January 23, 2025
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En route, Bueckers broke the previous program record held by Maya Moore. She achieved the feat after 108 games.
8. Highest Points In NCAA Tournament For UConn
The previous milestone was not the only time the Wings’ star overtook Maya Moore. Coming to the final year of her college basketball career, the 24-year-old also left behind Moore in terms of the highest NCAA Tournament points for UConn.
Dropping 477 points in total, the surge helped Geno Auriemma’s team to clinch the title in 2025.
7. Single-Game Scoring Record For UConn
Well, it looks like the Bueckers have a knack for hitting the highest score in a single game. But way before she did that in the WNBA, the 2025 WNBA All-Star achieved the feat for the UConn Huskies.
UConn is going to the Elite Eight!
— UConn Women’s Basketball Videos (@SNYUConn) March 29, 2025
Paige Bueckers with a UConn NCAA Tournament-record 40 points in the win! 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZqaJU03P14
Playing in her final year, the WNBA rookie accounted for 40 points against the Oklahoma Sooners. Clinching the UConn record for most points in a single NCAA game, Bueckers surpassed her previous best of 34 points.
6. NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player
Surely, Auriemma’s team did have a lot of talented players. But every year, just one name hovered over the others in terms of excellence. Winning the NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player Award, the 6ft star equaled Maya Moore’s record once again.
5. Winning The Wade Trophy
2025 came as a pleasant surprise for the star player. Following a successful NCAA campaign that saw Bueckers and co. lift the trophy, beating the South Carolina Gamecocks, the season also brought more good news for the 2025 WNBA first overall draft pick. Winning the coveted Wade Trophy, Bueckers further added a new feather to her bejeweled basketball crown.
4. UConn’s Best Assist-to-Turnover Ratio
In the 2024-2025 season, the 24-year-old had the highest assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.8. This was also a program-high for the Huskies. Moreover, she also entered the rare 50-40-90 club, shooting 50% from the field, 40% from the threes, and 90% from free throws.
3. Multiple Unanimous First Team All-American
Getting into the First Team All-American itself is an honor. But to do that unanimously is an even greater challenge. But for Bueckers, she wanted to take things to the next level. Thus, she achieved the feat not once, but thrice in 2021, 2024, and 2025. Such an accomplishment also made her level with program legends Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, and more.
2. Sole UConn Player With A Career 50-40-85 Shooting
To do it for a season is elite. But to sustain a 50-40-85 shooting split throughout a four-year career? Well, that’s what took Bueckers from a great player to outright being a legend. Appearing in 123 games over four years, the Breeze BC star shot 53.1% from the field, 42.3% from the three-point mark, and 85% from free throws.
1. Big East Dominance
Not only for her team, but the star player also asserted her dominance over the conference. Dropping some incredible performances, the 24-year-old became the very first player in history to clinch the Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player three times (2021, 2024, 2025).
Paige Bueckers is named Big East Player of the Year for the third time in her career, the first 3-time Big East POY since Maya Moore and just the fourth all-time https://t.co/i6a3i7danI
— Emily Adams (@eaadams6) March 6, 2025
And that was not all, Bueckers also had three Big East Player of the Year awards to further complement her raging form.