UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
By Sam Neumann on

As Paige Bueckers sprinted off the court at halftime, she had one thing on her mind: avoiding an interview.

The UConn star, who had scored just 12 points (3-of-12 from the field) but still managed 10 assists and seven boards in a dominant first-half performance, clearly had no time for sideline chats. With the Huskies up 45-23 against South Carolina—holding the Gamecocks to just nine second-quarter points—Bueckers’ focus was entirely on finishing the job.

After all, no lead is ever safe in Columbia, especially when you’re facing a team that has won 71 consecutive home games.

That was until Sunday.

Before Bueckers and her teammates could celebrate their 87-58 blowout of the No. 4-ranked Gamecocks, they still had another half to play — and an interview to do.

As ESPN’s Holly Rowe tried to flag Bueckers down for her obligatory sideline interview, Bueckers zoomed right past her, showing zero interest in stopping.

That fleeting moment captured a side of Bueckers rarely seen on TV.

In the clip below, you can see Bueckers’ moment of realization and her absolute disdain — not for Rowe — but that she had no interest in doing the interview. And she made no qualms about it, not even trying to hide how she felt.

And you’d never be able to tell.

Once the interview began, Bueckers flipped the switch.

“It’s been an emphasis in practice, she told Rowe when asked about coming out strong in the first half. “We feel like a lot of these big games, we’ve played on our heels; we wanted to play on our feet today, throw the first punch. We knew it was going to be a rough environment — a great environment for women’s basketball to play in. Just come out here, have fun and play with toughness.”

Bueckers was also asked what stands out when she sees young players like Sarah Strong and Jana Al Elfy playing at a high level, as they did on Sunday.

“It’s what they prepare to do,” she replied. “They work extremely hard for it in practice. It hasn’t come yet, but we know if they keep working, ‘It’s coming. It’s coming.’ They’re playing tremendous. They’ve been tremendous this whole year. Sarah’s almost got a double-double in the first half, so the bigs are doing great for us.”

Rowe’s final question addressed the expected pushback from the Gamecocks in the second half, which UConn handled with ease.

Three questions, one minute — and Bueckers handled the interview like a pro. Though she sounded a bit winded and out of breath, Bueckers remained fully composed with the cameras on — even if the last thing she wanted to do was talk.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann