UCONN Professional Athletes

It was a week that reminded the WNBA why UConn keeps producing its best players. From Dallas to Connecticut, Huskies alumni delivered performances that will be remembered long after the regular season wraps.

Bueckers Puts the League on Notice

Paige Bueckers didn't just have a good week — she etched her name into the record books twice and dragged the Dallas Wings back to the playoffs.

It started Sunday. In a 92-70 demolition of the Seattle Storm, Bueckers dropped 32 points in just 26 minutes, erupting for 18 in the first quarter alone. She went 6-for-6 from three-point range, tying five other players for most made threes without a miss in a single WNBA game. The performance put her in rare company — and the Wings hadn't even punched their playoff ticket yet.

That came Wednesday. Bueckers posted 22 points and 11 assists in a 96-78 rout of the Portland Fire to clinch Dallas's first postseason berth since 2023. In the process, she joined Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Plum as the only players in WNBA history to reach a specific scoring-and-assists milestone — making her the third player ever in that club. The double-double sealed a night that felt less like a regular-season game and more like a coronation.

For a Wings franchise that has missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, it's a genuine turning point. Bueckers is the engine, and she's running at a level the league hasn't seen from a second-year player in recent memory.

One shadow: fellow UConn alum Azzi Fudd, Dallas's No. 1 overall pick this year, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, forcing the Wings to add a guard off the free-agent wire to stabilize the backcourt. The upside? Bueckers has been good enough to carry the load herself.

Edwards Delivers a Career Night

While Bueckers was making history in Dallas, Aaliyah Edwards was doing something she'd never done before in Connecticut. The Sun forward went for 26 points and 10 rebounds — a career-high — in an 87-81 win over the Chicago Sky on Tuesday. It was the kind of complete performance that signals a player arriving, not just contributing.

The week didn't finish as cleanly for Edwards. She managed 8 points on Wednesday as Connecticut fell to the Golden State Valkyries 89-64, and 12 more in a 111-91 loss to the Indiana Fever on Friday. But the career-high stands as the defining moment: a double-double that willed the Sun past a scrappy Sky team and gave the fanbase something to build on.

Former Huskies Collide in Golden State

The Valkyries' historic first win over the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday came with an all-UConn subplot. Napheesa Collier and Tiffany Hayes — both Storrs products now on opposite benches — were caught in a physical altercation captured by broadcast cameras. The competitive fire between them was real; Hayes finished with 14 points and 4 assists in the 80-66 Golden State win, while Collier was held to 9 points and 7 rebounds in a tough night for the Lynx.

Hayes and the Valkyries kept rolling Friday, knocking off the Liberty 79-60. Hayes added 12 points, Gabby Williams (another UConn alum) put up 16, and Kiah Stokes hauled in 9 rebounds as Golden State used a depth chart packed with Huskies to dismantle New York.

On the other sideline, Breanna Stewart had 16 points and 6 rebounds in the loss before bouncing back Saturday with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in an 85-66 Liberty win over Chicago.

The UConn pipeline had a brutal, beautiful, complicated week in the WNBA — one rookie's season ended on a surgeon's table, another is clinging to a playoff spot by her fingernails, and a veteran forward is quietly carrying New York through a crisis.

Fudd's Season Is Over

The headline no Wings fan wanted: Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft and UConn's latest gift to Dallas, will undergo arthroscopic surgery on her right knee and miss the remainder of the season. The Wings announced the procedure — scheduled for early next week in Connecticut — on Wednesday. Fudd had been sidelined since Aug. 5 with ongoing knee soreness, first experiencing the issue during warmups before a game against the Golden State Valkyries on Aug. 7.

Before going down, Fudd was averaging 13.1 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting 39.7% from three — numbers that had made her one of the most promising rookie campaigns in recent memory. She becomes the second consecutive UConn Husky taken No. 1 by Dallas, following Paige Bueckers last year. The back-to-back Storrs-to-Dallas pipeline is now carrying a very different kind of weight.

Bueckers Grinding Through It

Which brings us to Bueckers herself — who has had a week that defies easy summary. The Wings are 2-7 since the All-Star break and holding onto the eighth and final playoff spot by the thinnest of threads. On Tuesday, Bueckers scored 21 points against the Valkyries but Dallas fell 78-70, dropping to 1-5 without Fudd. A seven-turnover performance in that stretch drew sharp national criticism, with some commentators loudly questioning her MVP case.

Then came Friday. With the Indiana Fever in town and the Wings' season on the line, Bueckers posted 13 points and a game-high 8 assists as Dallas notched a 91-85 win — one of their most critical victories of the year. Arike Ogunbowale was the offensive engine, but Bueckers' playmaking steadied a shorthanded roster desperate for answers. The win doesn't erase the slump, but it keeps Dallas alive.

Stewart Carries the Liberty

While Wings fans fretted, Breanna Stewart quietly put together the steadiest week of any UConn alum in the league. The Liberty forward scored 22 points in each of her two games this week — dropping 22-7-3 in a 93-86 loss to the Sky on Wednesday before bouncing back with 22-8-7 and a +7 plus-minus in a 109-102 win over the Fever on Saturday. That's back-to-back 22-point performances from a player who's already carrying a Liberty squad battered by injuries to Jonquel Jones (ankle) and Satou Sabally (concussion). Stewart addressed the situation directly after the Jones injury, refusing to sugarcoat the challenge ahead. She doesn't have to — her stat line does the talking.

Around the Huskies

Elsewhere, fellow UConn product Olivia Nelson-Ododa (Sun) had a strong week at the center position, posting 18 points and 11 rebounds in an 85-77 win over the Sparks on Tuesday before a tougher 14-point, 1-rebound effort in a loss to the Aces. Tiffany Hayes (Valkyries) was consistent across two games this week — 10 points vs. the Wings, 12 vs. the Lynx — while Gabby Williams exploded for 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals in Golden State's 78-70 win over Dallas on Tuesday, a performance made more pointed by the fact that she was outshining her former UConn teammate on the other sideline.

And finally: Diana Taurasi had her No. 3 retired by the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday, Aug. 16, in a ceremony that drew big names from across the basketball world. The greatest player in WNBA history, another Husky, closed a chapter. The rest of the pipeline is still writing theirs — some weeks more painfully than others.

The UConn Wings: One Soaring, One Grounded

Paige Bueckers had her showcase moment — and Azzi Fudd couldn't be there to share it.

The week's defining UConn story unfolded Friday in Dallas, where Bueckers posted 29 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals against the Indiana Fever — the kind of line that would have headlined any other night. It didn't, because Caitlin Clark answered with 29 points and 10 assists of her own, including a blistering 17-point third quarter that flipped the script on the Wings. Indiana won 98–87, with the Fever trolling Bueckers on social media afterward and ex-NFL star Robert Griffin III using the moment to crown Clark the WNBA MVP frontrunner. Bueckers was brilliant. She just ran into someone who was more so.

The Wings rookie had already lit up the Tempo on Thursday — 22 points, 8 assists, 3 steals in a 94–88 Dallas win — making this arguably the most productive week of her young WNBA career. The minus-7 Friday night aside, Bueckers looked every inch a franchise cornerstone.

Fudd's week told a darker story. The fellow UConn rookie was ruled out for both the Wednesday matchup against the Tempo and Friday's high-profile Fever clash, sidelined by a knee injury that has raised real concern about her availability going forward. The Sporting News reported she was ruled out mid-week with no firm return timeline, and Yahoo Sports confirmed she missed the Indiana game as well. For a Wings team trying to stay in the playoff picture, losing two UConn rookies' production — even temporarily — is a significant blow.

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Around the Rest of the Huskies

Tiffany Hayes delivered back-to-back strong performances for the Golden State Valkyries. On Sunday she dropped 14 points in a win over the Sparks, then went for 22 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals in a 76–61 rout of the Sky on Thursday — a plus-23 on the night that underscored why her Valkyries teammate Gabby Williams (13 points, 3 steals in that same game) is making noise about Golden State's title credentials.

Breanna Stewart had a workmanlike week for the Liberty — 19 points in a Tuesday loss to the Fever, 11 points in a Friday win over the Sparks, and 11 points with a plus-5 in a Saturday win over the Sun. It was steady if unspectacular, but the Liberty got the job done against Connecticut's Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. Nelson-Ododa actually had a standout outing in that Saturday loss, putting up 21 points and 10 rebounds, though the Sun fell 82–75.

Sun teammate Aaliyah Edwards was more limited, putting up 15 in a blowout Thursday loss to the Dream (69–104) before going quiet Saturday against the Liberty.

In Minnesota, Napheesa Collier continued her dominant season — 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a Thursday win over the Fire — while the Lynx had already rocked the Wings earlier in the week. On August 9, Kayla McBride set a WNBA record with 10 three-pointers in a 103–90 Minnesota win over Dallas, a game in which Collier added 17 and Dorka Juhasz appeared in a bench role.

Kia Nurse chipped in 16 points for the Tempo in Thursday's loss to the Wings, making for a week full of Husky-on-Husky competition across the league.

The bottom line: Bueckers is already a WNBA force. The Wings just need Fudd back to find out what two healthy UConn rookies can really do.

If the WNBA had a UConn Alumni Night this week, it would have sold out twice over. Huskies products dominated headlines from Minneapolis to Dallas to New York — on the court, in the standings, and on the U.S. national team sheet.

Collier & Miles Clinch Minnesota's Playoff Berth

The marquee moment of the week belonged to Minnesota, where Napheesa Collier and first-year standout Olivia Miles combined for 48 points in a 98-87 dismantling of the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday — a win that clinched the Lynx a WNBA playoff spot. Miles led all scorers with 26 points; Collier added 22, three assists, six rebounds, and three blocks to push Minnesota's record to a league-best 26-7.

It wasn't a clean week for Collier overall — the Lynx dropped a surprising 89-82 decision to the Sparks on Friday, snapping a 10-game winning streak, with Collier urging the team to "flush" it quickly. She still put up 21 points, six assists, and eight rebounds in the loss, making her case as the WNBA's most complete two-way player. Fellow Husky Dorka Juhasz provided reserve minutes across both games.

Stewart Powers Liberty's Sweep of Seattle

In New York, Breanna Stewart turned the Liberty-Storm series into a statement. Stewart dropped 28 points, eight rebounds, and two assists in a 92-86 win Wednesday that completed a two-game sweep of Seattle — she had gone for 24 points, eight boards, and six assists in the opener Monday. Storm alums Katie Lou Samuelson and Stefanie Dolson were on the losing end of both contests.

Turbulence in Dallas

The Wings' week was a grind. Dallas blew a 20-point second-half lead in a 96-92 collapse against the Mystics on Wednesday, with Paige Bueckers finishing with 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists but a minus-6 plus/minus. Azzi Fudd chipped in nine points and three steals before the wheels fell off — and the situation got murkier from there.

Fudd then missed Saturday's home loss to Golden State entirely, sitting out with a right knee injury. Without her, the Wings fell 94-76 as Bueckers again posted 17 points but was outshone by fellow Husky Gabby Williams, who put up 19 points and four assists for the victorious Valkyries. Kiah Stokes (7 pts, 7 reb, 2 blk, +21) and Tiffany Hayes (9 pts) also logged contributions for Golden State. Kaitlyn Chen dished five assists off the bench. Fudd's availability going forward is the central question for a Wings squad that is visibly scuffling.

Three Huskies Named to U.S. FIBA World Cup Squad

Beyond the weekly results, the bigger-picture news: Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, and Paige Bueckers were all named to the U.S. roster for the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup. The selection doesn't guarantee Olympic spots for Los Angeles 2028, but it underscores just how thoroughly UConn alums anchor the American program. Three players. One school. The pipeline isn't slowing down.