Paige Bueckers has classy response to tough call at end of UConn loss
Apr 5, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) dribbles the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the semifinals of the Final Four of the womens 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
An epic Final Four clash between Iowa and UConn came down to the final seconds on Friday night but the ending was marred by a controversial foul. And although she was on the wrong side of things, Huskies star Paige Bueckers doesn’t believe everyone should get caught up on one single play.
Following the 71-69 defeat, Bueckers explained that a lot more went into the loss than that lone whistle.
“Everybody can make a big deal about that one single play but not one single play wins a basketball game or loses a basketball game”
Paige Bueckers speaks on the infamous foul call
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“Everybody can make a big deal of that one single play, but not one single play wins a basketball game or loses a basketball game. I feel like there were a lot of mistakes that I made that could’ve prevented that play from even being that big,” she said gracefully.
“You can look at one play and say, ‘Oh, that killed us or that hurt us.’ But we should have done a better job — I should have done a better job of making sure we didn’t leave the game up to chance like that and leave the game up to one bad call (not) going our way and that deciding it.”
The comments are remarkably level-headed for a player who, moments earlier, lived through their NCAA Championship dreams being crushed. Bueckers deserved nothing less than a tip of the cap.
Still, while Bueckers’ comments highlight her class, most fans believe that games with such major implications should not be decided by officials. It’s an issue that has plagued all four major Americans sports leagues for years and one that will mar this instant classic forever.
