During the 2023 season, All-American Paige Bueckers totaled over 80 career games with 229 free throws for the UConn women’s basketball team. It might seem impressive until you compare it to Caitlin Clark’s 234 free throws in just 34 games or Juju Watkins’ 253 in 31 games. That’s to say that players like Bueckers, Clark, and Watkins go up against defenses that are extra-physical toward them. At least, that’s what Geno Auriemma believes.

Back in March, when the Huskies beat Jackson State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Paige Bueckers scored 28 points… but she was also fouled 8 times (twice while shooting and once after making a basket)! Following this, in the post-game conference, Auriemma said, “When you watch how she’s officiated relative to how other people are officiated and her star power, people get away with murder against her. That’s why I lose my mind.”

“She’s probably the most mis-officiated great player in America today in terms of getting the benefit of the doubt some times,” he added. Well, a couple of games into the 2024-25 season, the head coach still feels the same way.

After the Huskies’ 86-49 victory over South Florida on November 10, a reporter asked Auriemma in the post-game conference, “22 points for Paige on 10 shots today. How close was that first half to the aggressive version of her you’re hoping to see?” Bueckers played almost every second of the first half because UConn couldn’t risk giving her a break. That was because she was practically going up against USF on her own. But that inadvertently helped bring out the aggression in her which contributed to the 22 points at the end of the night.

In fact, just 20 minutes into the game, Paige Bueckers had already registered 19 points, almost half of the Huskies’ total (40). As for her teammates, none of them had more than 6. Discussing his player’s dominant display, Auriemma said, “We scripted about three or four plays before we came out. And we wanted to get some momentum going with [Bueckers]… I felt in past years, I had to do that, but this year, she kinda puts it on her own shoulders.” 

And then he addressed the officiating. “She’s only going to be in college for a couple of more months, so the referees are running out of time to actually call the times that she gets smacked in the face or gets hit on every bucket. So if they’re waiting to surprise her on Senior Night, I’d like for them to start calling them a little bit sooner,” the head coach concluded.

Though Geno wasn’t entirely clear, his statement may have been due to Bueckers’ dominant early-game performance. At one point, Bueckers dribbled around the court, stepped back, and launched a three-pointer. But before the ball could swish in, a whistle blew, and UConn’s forward was called for a three-second violation, nullifying the basket.

Overall, Bueckers had two personal fouls in today’s game. But the question is: Is Bueckers really overlooked by officials? According to Geno Auriemma, the answer is yes. “A bump that’s a foul on her is not a foul on someone else because that’s Paige Bueckers, and she’ll score anyway,” Auriemma said back in March after the game against Jackson State, where Bueckers drew eight fouls.

“I’m not saying that she loves playing like that (being physical), but she’s become better at it,” Auriemma had added. And this was something that was evident even in the game against South Florida when she stepped it up without her head coach having to tell her. As for Bueckers, while she hasn’t been vocal about the fouls so far this season, she sure has been vocal on and off the court, especially about her influence on the team.

“I feel like I have a lot of knowledge for the game. I watch it a ton. I have a high IQ,” she said. “I want to be able to share with my teammates and not just demand things out of them… I feel like when you explain, and not just demand and say, like, ‘Do this. Do that,’ but ‘why,’ I feel like it hits home more. And so definitely just using my voice, also by doing it by example and leading that way.”

That said, the 23-year-old has spoken up about fouls in the past.

Paige Bueckers remains confident against fouls

After the March 23 game, the 2021 National Player of the Year wasn’t upset or frustrated, but the scratches on her shoulder made it obvious. She finally spoke up: “I definitely feel like teams try to be aggressive with me. They probably know that they can get away with a little bit in terms of referees not calling a foul on every possession for the game to continue to flow.”

According to her, teams knew they wouldn’t always get called for fouls, and opponents have taken advantage of that. But Bueckers remains confident: “So I have to continue to not let the officiating or the physical play get to me and play my game,” she added. And she wasn’t bothered.

Despite missing the entire 2022-23 season due to an ACL tear in her left knee, Bueckers was incredible in her comeback. She scored an impressive 32 points with 10 rebounds in 40 minutes of play against Syracuse and averaged 25.8 points with eight rebounds per game. Although the Huskies were eliminated from the NCAA tournament’s final round, the 2024-2025 season has just begun. The sentiment still lingers for the head coach, but Bueckers is optimistic, and they have two for two in the bag.