Katie Manganelli
Nov 19, 2023
UConn’s Paige Bueckers grew up watching basketball in her home state of Minnesota. She has memories of Lynx and Golden Gophers games at Williams Arena — she attended those games starting when she was 10 or 12 years old.
Now, Bueckers will return to The Barn, but not as a spectator.
“It’s super surreal because I grew up going to games at The Barn and watching the Gophers and watching the Lynx play there,” Bueckers said to the Hartford Courant. “So to be playing there, where I grew up, my childhood, at my dream school wearing a UConn jersey in that arena, it’s like a surreal feeling for me.”
The Huskies are set to take on the Gophers in Minnesota at 5 p.m. ET Sunday in a homecoming game for Bueckers. Bueckers will be taking the same court her childhood idols took over a decade ago.
“I envisioned it when I was younger,” Bueckers said. “Just wanting to be the people who were playing on the court. As a young kid, that was where I wanted to be. You never knew what the future was going to hold, but it was something I aspired to do.”
UConn’s head coach Geno Auriemma goes out of his way to schedule homecoming games for his seniors, including two international matchups this season — one for Nika Mühl in Croatia during the Huskies’ preseason tour and one for Aaliyah Edwards in Toronto, which will be played in December.
Williams Arena is likely to be packed when the local star makes her return — more than 10,000 seats are expected to be filled when Bueckers takes the court at the 14,625-seat arena.
Among those 10,000 people will be Bueckers’ family, friends and other Minnesotans in the basketball community. And Bueckers credits these people with her upbringing.
“You often hear the phrase ‘Minnesota nice,’” Bueckers told CT Insider. “I think everything around here, just everybody knows everybody. Everybody’s nice to each other. Everybody’s like family once you meet them. So, I think that just is sort of why I love relationships, why I love people so much and why I love getting to know people so much and I think that has a lot to do with where I’m from.”
But for Bueckers, a homecoming game isn’t just about seeing family and friends. It’s about being who Rebekkah Brunson and Lindsey Whalen were to her for other young girls.
“I want to be an inspiration to kids,” Bueckers said. “I want people to see that injuries happen, adversity happens, but what do you do to come back from it? How hard do you attack that process? I want people to see passion when they see me play, fire and energy and that I love the game.”
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Emma Hruby
Mar 23, 2024
March Madness is officially here, with the first round of the women’s tournament continuing Saturday after a jam-packed opening day.
There are some big matchups on deck, with 1-seed Iowa set to take on Holy Cross on ABC. Others like No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 1 USC, No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 UConn are also in action.
Here’s when and how to watch each game. All times are in ET
- No. 11 Green Bay vs. No. 6 Tennessee
- 12pm on ESPN
- No. 14 Jackson State vs. No. 3 UConn
- 1pm on ABC
- No. 13 Fairfield vs. No. 4 Indiana
- 1:30pm on ESPN2
- No. 9 Michigan vs. No. 8 Kansas
- 2pm on ESPN News
- No. 15 Kent State vs. No. 2 Notre Dame
- 2:15pm on ESPN
- No. 14 Chattanooga vs. No. 3 NC State
- 2:30pm on ESPNU
- No. 16 Holy Cross vs. No. 1 Iowa
- 3pm on ABC
- No. 11 Arizona vs. No. 6 Syracuse
- 3:30pm on ESPN2
- No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast vs. No. 5 Oklahoma
- 4pm on ESPN News
- No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. No. 1 USC
- 4:30pm on ESPN
- No. 10 Marquette vs. No. 7 Ole Miss
- 4:45pm on ESPNU
- No. 9 Princeton vs. No. 8 West Virginia
- 5:40pm on ESPN2
- No. 10 UNLC vs. No. 7 Creighton
- 7pm on ESPN News
- No. 13 UC Irvine vs. No. 4 Gonzaga
- 7:30pm on ESPN2
- No. 15 California Baptist vs. No. 2 UCLA
- 9:30pm on ESPN2
- No. 12 South Dakota State vs. No. 5 Utah
- 10pm on ESPNU
The U.S. women’s national team (USWNT) will play Mexico in July in a pre-Olympics warm up.
The team announced the match on Friday. It will take place on July 13 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. It’ll be the team’s second-to-last match before they leave for the Paris Olympic Games.
The USWNT learned of its Olympics group stage opponents earlier this week, with Germany, Australia and the winner of Zambia/Morocco joining the Americans in Group B.
It’s expected to be just the third match in charge for Emma Hayes, who will take over the helm of the USWNT after the conclusion of her season with Chelsea.
The game is also a rematch following last month’s Gold Cup group stage showdown, which Mexico won 2-0. It was only the team’s second victory in 43 meetings between the two sides. The USWNT rebounded to win the Gold Cup, beating Brazil 1-0 in the final.
The USWNT is expected to play one other home game after that match, although the exact date, venue and opponent have yet to be announced.
U.S. Soccer will honor the 1999 World Cup-winning team at the match with a pregame celebration and reunion of the team’s players. This summer marks the 25th anniversary of the USWNT’s World Cup win on home soil, and second of four World Cup titles.
"This will be a fun and inspirational weekend," U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone, who played on the 1999 Women's World Cup team, said in a statement.
"The fans will get the chance to show their support for the team before they head to France while also celebrating our 1999 Women's World Cup Team. This is a group of women who did so much for the sport and the impact of that team and tournament is still being felt 25 years later, especially as we bid for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. I can't wait to see my teammates and friends."
The USWNT and Mexico have submitted a joint bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with the host set to be announced on May 17. Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have submitted a joint bid, and Brazil has submitted a bid as well.
Emma Hruby
Mar 22, 2024
The PWHL is set to break the women’s hockey attendance record after selling out the Bell Centre in Montreal.
The game has been billed as the Duel at the Top, taking place between Montreal and Toronto.
“Quebecers and Montrealers have shown an outpouring of support for our team this season, regardless of where we have played our games,” said Danièle Sauvageau, GM of the Montreal team, when the game was announced.
“Our fans have been asking us for this and we are happy to be able to give them what they want. It’s exciting to know that we will be playing in the largest hockey venue in North America, and I am certain that our supporters will be louder than ever.”
Tickets sold out in less than 20 minutes for the largest hockey arena in North America at a capacity of 21,105. Re-sale tickets are up to almost $450.
The previous attendance record had been set in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, with 19,285 turning out earlier this season. Earlier this month, Detroit set a new American record for professional women’s hockey, with 13,736 fans in attendance to watch PWHL Boston face PWHL Ottawa.
“To have the opportunity to play at the Bell Centre would be historical, I think, is the best word to say,” Monreal’s Erin Ambrose said last month. “We’ve talked about how great our fans have been, the way they’ve showed up in Laval, the way they’ve showed up at Verdun, the way they showed up on the road, too, in Toronto.
“We would love that opportunity and hopefully it can happen. I know that I’m crossing my fingers that we can be here. I mean, it would be pretty unbelievable to walk out there and kind of hear the crowd erupt. It would be something pretty monumental.”
Emma Hruby
Mar 22, 2024
UConn star Aaliyah Edwards has declared for the WNBA draft.
Edwards’ decision adds to an already deep draft class, with Stanford’s Cameron Brink and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark having declared for the draft, as well as UConn teammate Nika Muhl.
Edwards made the announcement on Thursday, ahead of UConn’s first round matchup in the NCAA tournament with Jackson State on Saturday.
“Got to savor every moment because this is my last jam at UConn,” she said in an announcement video. “I’m all in, ready to bring that championship glory back to Storrs with my squad by my side. Let’s have one last dance.”
A three-year starter for the Huskies, Edwards was a key piece in the team’s Final Four runs in 2021 and 2022, including a national title game appearance in 2022. She’s averaging the second-most points on the team this season (17.8) and leads UConn in rebounds (9.3). Both are career highs.
She’s part of a stellar senior class for UConn that also features Paige Bueckers, who has already announced her intention to return next year after missing last season with a torn ACL.
Edwards had to miss two games in the Big East tournament with a broken nose, but is expected to play this weekend.
No. 3 seed UConn plays 14-seed Jackson State at 1pm ET on ABC.
