STORRS, Conn. — UConn‘s guards are just getting started. It’s an early September morning, weeks before the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season opens. Loosening up just after 8 a.m., the squeaking of the players’ sneakers on the practice court at Werth Champions Center intensifies.

But something is missing. Someone.

Paige Bueckers is across the hall, alone in a quiet training room. Wearing a gray T-shirt and turquoise shorts with a bun collecting her blonde hair, she kicks off her white slides and sits on a yoga mat. Her eyes are fixated on her laptop, where a virtual Pilates session with her instructor is about to start.

Bueckers moves through her weekly session, progressing through stomach and sidekick series, plank work and one-leg standing exercises. Bueckers couldn’t do much of this when she first began practicing Pilates a year ago. She now has familiarity with the movements and follows along with ease but still checks the laptop frequently to ensure her form is correct.

Signs of fatigue set in — “fish again?!” Bueckers exclaims when asked to do another round of side sit ups, her breathing heavier in the subsequent reps. Even with the increasing difficulty, she never bows out before time is up.

Read more (via ESPN)