WNBA star Paige Bueckers admitted that she is a huge fan of one college basketball sensation who was competing against her beloved UConn for a national championship
Paige Bueckers is a fan of one March Madness star, and she doesn’t play for UConn(Image: Photo by Brandon Todd /NBAE via Getty Images)
Reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year and UConn alumni Paige Bueckers admitted she has become a huge fan of one March Madness star who plays for a rival team.
Ahead of the women’s Final Four tipping off in Phoenix, Bueckers heaped praise on Texas forward Madison Booker, one of college basketball’s most exciting talents.
Although Booker and the Longhorns’ 2025-26 season won’t be capped with a national championship after falling short to UCLA in the Final Four on Friday night, the star forward looks destined for a future in the WNBA. It came after Bueckers’ former coach Geno Auriemma was issued a five-word threat by Dawn Staley following a wild March Madness scuffle.
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“I really like her game and the way she plays,” Bueckers said of Booker.
“I think she’s keeping the midrange game alive. That’s like my bread and butter, so I love when another person, that’s where they thrive.”
Receiving praise from Bueckers, a national champion and three-time All-America first team selection, is nothing to brush over, especially considering the two don’t share the same college allegiances.
Booker has been one of the nation’s best scorers since she first put on the Texas uniform three years ago.
Booker is expected to return to Texas next year for her senior season(Image: Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
The Ridgeland, Missouri native has averaged 17.1 points per game across three college seasons and been named twice to the All-America first team – including alongside Bueckers in 2024-25.
A dynamic scorer, who, as Bueckers mentioned, is lethal from the midrange, Booker is all but etched for a bright future in the pros once she decides to wrap up her college career in Austin.
The 20-year-old just finished her junior season and is expected to stay at Texas under head coach Vic Schaefer for another year before entering her name in the WNBA Draft.
Friday’s Final Four tilt against UCLA was far from her finest showing – Booker shot 3-for-23 and finished with just six points – but fans, analysts, and even players like Bueckers know that such a performance is just a blip on the radar for a player of her caliber.
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Before Texas and UCLA’s low-scoring slog in Friday’s semifinal, Bueckers’ beloved UConn was handed its first loss of the year by Dawn Staley and South Carolina.
With Bueckers in attendance, the Huskies were held to a season-worst 48 points, an unprecedented performance by the reigning national champions who entered the Final Four as overwhelming favorites to win a second straight title.
If Friday’s games proved anything, it’s that anything can happen when the best of the best in women’s college basketball come together on the same court, from the game’s most accomplished coaches yelling at each other at midcourt, to UConn being completely outplayed, to all-American talents like Booker struggling to make a shot.