TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Paige Bueckers insists she’s not concerned about her legacy.
The UConn standout will close out her college career when the Huskies face South Carolina in Sunday’s national title game. She said Saturday that she would like to be remembered as “a great teammate, a great leader” who makes players around her better.
She’ll leave it to others to decide if adding an NCAA championship to an already impressive resume will validate her accomplishments.
“I don’t think that’s up to me. I think that’s up to the people who, I guess, get to decide if people’s legacies are cemented or whatever," Bueckers said. “But I’m not worried about that at all.
“The thing I take great joy and great pride in is the relationships, the experiences, the journeys we’ve gone on throughout the team,” she added. “Just the bonds I’ve been able to create with my teammates, the memories, the close-knit stuff that, I mean, you can’t really experience without support, just how it’s brought us all together and how much we’ve grown as individuals, grown as a team. All the stuff we’ve been through and how much it’s made us stronger.”
UConn players talk about their desire to deliver a 12th national title for Geno Auriemma, who has led the Huskies to a record 24 Final Fours. The coach, however, would like Bueckers and the rest of his players to experience the joy of winning it all.
Win or lose, however, Auriemma knows Bueckers has already made a lasting impact on his storied program.
“If you’re in this for the first time, you really don’t have the appreciation for what it really is. If you’re fortunate like I’ve been, you know what that feels like when someone who has given their whole heart and soul to your program walks off the court in the last game of their career with a national championship. … You see the effect that it has on their life,” Auriemma said.
“Paige doesn’t need anything to change her life to make her life better. She’s got a life that most people would dream about. But for someone who’s invested so much into the University of Connecticut, the community, the team, her teammates, and loves the game so much, she deserves to go out as a national champion,” Auriemma added. “But so do a bunch of kids at South Carolina that have done the exact same thing.”
Count South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, whose team is seeking an impressive third title in four years, among those who don’t believe Bueckers needs to win Sunday to validate her career.
“She’s a great player, but just because you’re a great player doesn’t mean you need to win the national championship to legitimize it. Paige is legit. She was legit from the moment she stepped on this stage or prior to, in Minnesota,” Staley said.
“Her career is legendary,” Staley added. “She will leave a legacy at UConn whether she wins one or not.”
Bueckers scored 16 points on 7 for 17 shooting in UConn’s 85-51 victory over No. 1 overall seed UCLA in Friday’s national semifinals. While the Huskies went on the road to beat South Carolina by 29 points in mid-February, there are lingering memories of a loss to the Gamecocks in the 2022 NCAA title game.
The tournament loss three years ago concluded an injury-marred season for Bueckers, who’s expected to be the first overall pick in the upcoming WNBA draft. A UConn win Sunday would deny South Carolina’s bid to become the first repeat champion since the Huskies won four straight from 2013 to 2016.
“Really, the journey is the reward for me. And I never take it for granted being able to play here and put on this uniform,” Bueckers said on the eve of her last game for the Huskies.
“Whatever talks of legacy and whatever, I guess that’s not up to me,” she reiterated. “All I can worry about and control is who I am every single day and who we are as a team. That’s all I’m worried about.”
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Fans of UConn guard Paige Bueckers cheer for her during practice at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
UConn guard Paige Bueckers shoots free throws during practice at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump’s predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks.
The increase reported Thursday in the Consumer Price Index means consumers and businesses that rely on eggs should not anticipate immediate relief. Demand for eggs is typically elevated until after Easter, which falls on April 20.
Industry experts were expecting the index to reflect a drop in retail egg prices because wholesale egg prices dropped significantly in March. University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson said the wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, so there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline even if prices stared to fall at the end of the month. And grocery stores may not have immediately passed on the lower prices.
Bird flu outbreaks were cited as the major cause of price spikes in January and February after more than 30 million egg-laying chickens were killed to prevent the spread of the disease. Only 2.1 million birds were slaughtered in March and none of them were on egg farms
The farms that had fall outbreaks have been working to resume egg production after sanitizing their barns and raising new flocks, but chickens must be about six months old before they start laying eggs. Thompson said those farms did not come back online as quickly as anticipated. In the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture numbers, there were only about 285 million hens laying eggs nationwide as of March 1, down from 293 million the previous month. Before the outbreak, the flock typically numbered more than 315 million.
Trump tried to take credit for the lower wholesale egg prices the USDA reported in recent weeks. But experts say the president’s plan to fight bird flu by focusing on strengthening egg farmers’ defenses against the virus is likely to be more of a long-term help.
“I think there are lots of people who are looking to see the egg prices coming down because they wanted to call it a win. And I think it’s a loss for everybody. I think we all want to see egg prices come down,” Thompson said.
Egg prices are still expected to decline later this spring, but the latest numbers could also increase scrutiny of Cal-Maine Foods, which provides 20% of the nation’s eggs, and other large egg producers.
Earlier this week, Cal-Maine acknowledged it is being investigated by the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice, which is looking into egg price increases. Cal-Maine said it is cooperating with the investigation.
In its most recent quarter, which ended March 1, Cal-Maine said its net income more than tripled to $508.5 million compared to the same period a year ago. The company said its revenue nearly doubled to $1.42 billion, largely because of higher egg prices.
Since the current bird flu outbreak began, more than 168 million birds have been slaughtered, most of them egg-laying chickens. Any time a bird gets sick, the entire flock is killed to help keep bird flu from spreading. That can have an effect on the egg supply because massive egg farms may have millions of birds.
The disease is difficult to control because it is spread easily through the droppings of wild birds that carry the avian flu virus. Bird flu has also inflected other animals, including dairy cattle.
Egg prices hit $5.90 in February one month after setting a record at $4.95 per dozen, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But shoppers encountered prices much higher than that in some places; in California, the price per dozen topped $12 in some stores.
Earlier in the outbreak, egg prices spiked to hit $4.82 in January 2023 before gradually falling as low as $2.04 per dozen in August 2023. Generally, prices have since increased steadily.
Associated Press writer Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report.
Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
FILE - Cartons of eggs sit on a shelf in a Walmart store, March 10, 2025, in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
Eggs are displayed in a grocery store in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
FILE - A carton of eggs sit on a counter in the kitchen inside of 5 Rabanitos restaurant in Chicago, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
