Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers is just the third freshman named to the AP All-America team. Kathy Willens/Associated Press
Paige Bueckers came to Connecticut with a lot of hype surrounding her.
The freshman guard has lived up to it so far, delivering record-breaking performances and earning a spot on The Associated Press women’s basketball All-American team Wednesday. She’s only the third freshman to make the AP team, joining Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris and UConn’s Maya Moore.
Bueckers received 28 first-place votes from the national panel of 30 media members that vote each week in the AP Top 25 poll. She was joined by Dana Evans of Louisville, Aliyah Boston of South Carolina, Rhyne Howard of Kentucky and NaLyssa Smith of Baylor.
“Name one player that has taken a team this young to where we are today,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said. “Who’s done more than her? And if you can give me a better argument, then I would say I’ll vote for them, too. But I don’t think you can.”
Bueckers averaged 19.7 points, 6.1 assists and shot nearly 54% from the field and a remarkable 47% from 3-point range. She became the first UConn player to score 30 or more points in three straight games, including a 31-point effort against South Carolina. She also set the school record for assists in a game (14).
Out of the five players, only Howard was a first-team All-American last season. Evans and Boston earned second-team honors in 2020.
The second team was headlined by N.C. State’s Elissa Cunane. She was joined by Naz Hillmon, who is the first women’s player at Michigan to earn All-America honors. Aari McDonald of Arizona was on the second team for the second straight year. Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark, who led the nation in scoring and Charli Collier of Texas rounded out the squad.
The third team was Oklahoma State’s Natasha Mack, Maryland’s Ashley Owusu, UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere, Stanford’s Kiana Williams and Arkansas’ Chelsea Dungee.
• UConn assistant coach Shea Ralph has decided to leave the women’s basketball team in San Antonio and head home after a family member tested positive for COVID-19.
The school said Ralph has tested negative for the virus every day since March 9, but left the team and the NCAA tournament bubble out of an abundance of caution.
The move comes two days after head coach Geno Auriemma announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus and would be self-isolating in Connecticut until at least March 24.
UConn’s team doctor said Monday that Auriemma had a very low viral load and it was highly unlikely he transmitted the virus to anyone else in the program.
Associate head coach Chris Dailey, who is 10-0 in her career while filling in for Auriemma, has stepped in to lead the top-ranked Huskies, who will open tournament play on Sunday night against High Point.
With Ralph’s departure, Jamelle Elliott will be UConn’s only assistant on the bench. Elliott played on UConn’s first championship team in 1995, is a former head coach at Cincinnati and is in her second stint on Auriemma’s staff. She was also an assistant from 1998-2009, helping UConn to five other national championships.
OKLAHOMA: Coach Sherri Coale is retiring after 25 years leading the program, the school announced in a news release on Wednesday.
Coale, a native of tiny Healdton, Oklahoma, is a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and will be inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame this summer. She led three Oklahoma teams to the Final Four, and the Sooners reached the national title game in 2002. She is a four-time Big 12 Coach of the Year who led the Sooners to six Big 12 regular-season and four Big 12 tournament titles.
Coale finished her college coaching career with a 512-293 overall record. Now, she’s ready to take a different path. Coale graduated from Oklahoma Christian University before starting her coaching career. She coached at Norman High, where she led the Lady Tigers to two Class 6A state titles. She then took over at Oklahoma, and the Sooners claimed six Big 12 Player of the Year honors on her watch. She also produced 14 WNBA draft selections, including six first-round picks.
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