UCONN Professional Athletes

It was a week that reminded the WNBA exactly what UConn produces. In Dallas, Paige Bueckers broke a league scoring record and powered the Wings to a franchise-best 26th win. In New York, Breanna Stewart passed Sue Bird on the all-time scoring list and delivered a vintage double-double in a critical playoff-positioning win. Two Huskies, two history books, one week.

Bueckers Puts the Wings in Uncharted Territory

Paige Bueckers did not ease back into the regular-season grind — she torched it. Against the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, Bueckers dropped 26 points (20 of them in the first half alone), added 5 assists, 3 steals, and a block in an 87-82 Dallas win. The performance broke a WNBA scoring record and secured the Wings' franchise-record 26th victory of the season.

The win was also Dallas's sixth consecutive, a streak that has the Wings jockeying for improved playoff seeding heading into the postseason. Context makes it even more impressive: Wings head coach Jose Fernandez had placed Bueckers on a minutes restriction before tip-off, managing her patellar tendinitis heading into the playoffs. She went out and broke a record anyway.

Bueckers had already posted 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals in a 97-77 blowout of the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday — Dallas's fifth straight win at the time. The Wings' closing schedule has set up a potential major jump in the standings, and Bueckers is the engine driving all of it. The Wings have also submitted her name for MVP consideration, where she joins A'ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell as candidates.

The week did carry one somber UConn note from Dallas: fellow Husky Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick who had averaged 13.1 points in 30 games this season, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and is done for the year. Fudd said she plans to be "the best cheerleader I can on the side" as the Wings make their playoff run.

Stewart Rewrites the WNBA Record Books in Minnesota

While Bueckers was making noise in Dallas, Breanna Stewart was making history in a different arena. In Friday's 93-81 Liberty win over the Minnesota Lynx, Stewart scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished 4 assists, and recorded 3 steals — a dominant double-double that also came with a milestone: she passed UConn and Seattle legend Sue Bird on the WNBA's all-time scoring list.

The timing could hardly be better for New York. Stewart returned to the Liberty fresh off winning FIBA World Cup MVP, and the Liberty desperately needed her — the team had been navigating a potentially dangerous slide in playoff seeding. The win over Minnesota, the league's top team, was a statement. Stewart's defensive impact was equally noteworthy; she was vocal in orchestrating the Liberty's defensive scheme against Minnesota's Olivia Miles, a performance that drew a reaction even from teammate Sabrina Ionescu.

With the postseason approaching, Stewart's form gives the Liberty genuine championship momentum at exactly the right moment.

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Fellow Husky Dorka Juhász was on the other side of the Stewart masterclass, posting 4 rebounds and 2 assists in Minnesota's loss. It was a tough night to be a Lynx — and an even better one to be a UConn fan watching from anywhere else.

The Husky Civil War in Arlington

Sunday's Wings-Sun matchup was, in many ways, a UConn family reunion — just not a pleasant one for the Connecticut side. Paige Bueckers posted 15 points, 6 assists, a steal, and a jaw-dropping +27 plus-minus as Dallas rolled to a 97-71 blowout of the Sun, the Wings' fourth consecutive win. The result was never really in doubt: Dallas led 32-18 after one quarter and pushed the margin to 32 points at its peak.

On the losing end, Aaliyah Edwards gave the Sun everything she had. The forward dropped 26 points and 6 rebounds with 2 steals — a performance that in a vacuum looks like a star turn. Against this Wings team on this night, it earned her a -22 plus-minus. When the two UConn alumnae are on opposite benches, someone's going home unhappy.

The two will have a chance to flip the script together. Both Bueckers and Edwards are expected to suit up for Team USA at the FIBA Women's World Cup, where they'll trade adversarial roles for a shared goal. Bueckers has been openly enthusiastic about the tournament, praising teammates Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston ahead of competition. Clark, for her part, told reporters she's eager to share the backcourt with her future Team USA running mate. Bueckers' new Team USA nickname — "PB4" — has already drawn a co-sign from Angel Reese, who called it a fit.

Around the Rest of the Husky WNBA Family

The Wings-Sun game wasn't the only place UConn alumni left fingerprints this week.

In Golden State's 86-69 win over Chicago, Tiffany Hayes was arguably the most efficient Husky of the week. The Valkyries guard dropped 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals while finishing +21 — a complete, two-way performance that underscores why Golden State has quietly become one of the league's more dangerous rosters. Teammate Kaitlyn Chen chipped in 15 points and a +12 in the same game, continuing a breakout run that has the former Princeton-transfer-turned-UConn product firmly on the league's radar. (Chen did spend time at UConn after Princeton; she's listed among the Huskies' active WNBA alumni.) On the other side, Serah Williams scored 8 for the Fire with 5 boards.

In Seattle's 74-90 loss to the Sparks, Stefanie Dolson (3 assists, 5 rebounds, +12) and Katie Lou Samuelson (4 points, +1) both logged time. The Storm fell short, but neither Husky hurt her team's cause.

Napheesa Collier and the Lynx had a rougher go of it, falling 89-81 to Atlanta despite a strong Collier outing: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. A -16 plus-minus tells the story of a night where individual production wasn't enough. Coach Cheryl Reeve was blunt afterward, demanding the team "toughen up."

Kia Nurse had a quiet night for the Tempo in a lopsided 69-101 loss to Phoenix, finishing with 2 points and a -26 mark.

The Bottom Line

The week belonged to Bueckers — and it wasn't particularly close. With the Wings on a four-game tear and the World Cup on the horizon, the former Husky is peaking at exactly the right moment. Edwards, despite a losing result, showed she belongs in that same conversation. When they share a Team USA bench, UConn fans get to root for both.

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.