Paige Buecker Posts 17 Points in UConn Debut
December 14, 2020
The GIST: An emerging star made her college basketball debut, an all-time wins record is about to be broken and a top-ranked team might’ve literally thrown away their shot at the College Football Playoff (CFP)…what a weekend in college sports.
SOURCE: STEPHEN SLADE/UCONN ATHLETICS
Women’s basketball: UConn women’s basketball (WBB) finally played their season opener on Saturday, and it was well worth the wait, with the No. 3 Huskies defeating UMass Lowell, 79–23. No. 1 recruit Paige Bueckers (pronounced BECKERS) looked like a veteran in her college debut, posting 17 points and nine rebounds. Talk about a warm welcome.
- Over on the West Coast, No. 1 Stanford defeated Cal 83–38, giving head coach Tara VanDerveer her 1,098th (!!!) career win and tying the legendary Pat Summitt for most wins by a WBB coach. VanDerveer and the Cardinal will look to make herstory vs. the Pacific Tigers tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET.
Football: In true 2020 fashion, the college football regular season is coming to a close in a completely bizarre way. Squaring off against a woeful LSU team, former No. 6 Florida seemed poised to ride a seven-game win streak into next weekend’s SEC Championship.
- But, with minutes remaining in the tied game, Florida cornerback Marco Wilson took LSU tight end Kole Taylor’s shoe and...tossed it down the field. Wilson’s head-scratching decision warranted a penalty, which allowed LSU to continue the drive and kick the game-winning field goal.
- With the loss, now No. 11 Florida will likely miss out on a CFP berth. However, a win over No. 1 Alabama on championship Saturday should improve their playoff chances, so now might be a good time to add some Hamilton to the pre-game playlist.
