Paige Bueckers makes admission about Caitlin Clark game – ‘I’m still sick about it’

Paige Bueckers will face Caitlin Clark in the WNBA next season, but she recalls the heartbreak from their last meeting in the NCAA semi-finals last year

Paige Bueckers will face off against Caitlin Clark in the WNBA, but their last meeting left a lasting impression on the Dallas Wings’ new number one draft pick.

The former UConn Huskies star ended her college career perfectly by winning the NCAA championship. It ended Bueckers’ five-year quest for glory, having been named player of the year as a freshman, but also struggled with injuries and painful NCAA defeats.

In April, Bueckers helped lead the Huskies to an 82-59 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks in the championship game. However, the 23-year-old has admitted to still not completely being over the team’s semi-final defeat to a Clark-inspired Iowa last year.

The Huskies suffered a narrow 71-69 defeat, which hinged on a controversial foul call. “I’m still sick about that game,” Bueckers told Time. “The weeks after it, I just felt so disappointed, frustrated with how it ended. But then, like always, the motivation piece kicks in, where you don’t ever want to feel that feeling again.”

However, Bueckers had already been forced to overcome disappointment. She had previously spent a year on the sidelines after suffering an ACL injury and took on a motivational role as the team fell short of the Final Four in 2023.

As her Huskies team-mate Azzi Fudd explained: “Something that was so incredible for me to see was how she handled her rehab process. She definitely did get down, but she never let anyone see that outside of a select few, in her own space. In public with the team, she was always upbeat at the gym, making sure everyone else was good.”

Meanwhile, Bueckers shed some light on her mentality at the time, adding: “I had the mindset of, every single day conquered will be a day closer to me playing basketball.”

Paige Bueckers poses with the NCAA championship trophy(Image: C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Those disappointments feel like distant memories now for Bueckers as she prepares to star for the Dallas Wings in her rookie year. In 2024, she also became an equity partner in Unrivaled, where she is slated to earn $350,000.

Having started her college career at the same time as Angel Reese and Clark, it is Bueckers’ time to make her mark in the WNBA. The NCAA championship was sealed with 15 straight victories, and Wings general manager Curt Miller commended Bueckers for handling the scrutiny.

“I don’t know if a player has felt more pressure to validate a collegiate career with a championship than Paige has,” says Wings executive vice president and general manager Curt Miller, Bueckers’ new boss. “How she navigated that and thrived through that was really, really special to witness.”

Paige Bueckers has spoken about her last game against Caitlin Clark(Image: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Bueckers, who was first in the spotlight as a high school athlete, made sure to savor the perfect end to her Huskies career. However, her attention will quickly turn to helping Dallas reach the playoffs next season.

“I want to give everything I have to the organization, to the city,” Bueckers said. “I know Dallas is a sports city. I’m walking in there wanting to be a great leader, a great teammate, wanting to be a winner at all levels, wearing that jersey and representing that city with pride and a passion and joy for the game of basketball. I want to give to that community. I want to be invested in it. We’re all looking to do something special.”

On the inevitable comparisons with Clark, she added: “That’s what everybody who watches basketball cares about. I used to be bothered by it. But I’ve done so much work on myself and my approach. The ability to not run a race in comparison, to run my own race and worry about that. Caitlin’s a phenomenal player. We’re also completely different players.”