STORRS, Conn. (AP) — After the game was over, UConn star Paige Bueckers returned to the court with a microphone in her hand.
It was a similar scene a year ago, when she announced she was coming back to play for the Huskies one last time. This time, it was her chance to thank the fans who supported her during her five seasons at UConn following her final home game at Gampel Pavilion.
They had a lot to celebrate. Bueckers had just matched her career high with 34 points in a 91-57 victory over South Dakota State on Monday night that moved the Huskies into their 31st consecutive Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
“It means everything,” Bueckers said. “We started playing here with cardboard cutouts as the fans, so just to have gone through that and then experienced the other side of it, which was amazing. The atmosphere was amazing. You can’t even hear timeouts, can’t even hear fouls, can’t even hear the when the whistle blows just because of how loud they are and how much support they show.
“It’s been a dream to play here, a dream to wear this uniform, a dream to play in this environment. As much more times you want this to continue to happen, you just take every single chance you have and never take it for granted.”
UConn got off to a slow start against a veteran South Dakota State team that upset No. 7 seed Oklahoma State in the first round to set up the first meeting between the teams.
Bueckers had UConn’s final 10 points of the first quarter. She was just getting warmed up.
“It is incredible to watch,” UConn guard Azzi Fudd said. “You almost feel sorry for the other team when Paige is locked in. There is nothing you can do to stop her. No matter what shot she takes, the ball is going to go in. It was fun to watch and see what she does.”
It has not been the easiest of five years for Bueckers. She missed one season and was limited to 17 games in another one.
She has one last chance to win a national championship before going to the WNBA, most likely as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
“When you’re in high school, it seems so easy, you know? I go to UConn and win a national championship," coach Geno Auriemma said. "The reality hits and you realize it’s incredibly difficult to do that, so I don’t want anyone to feel less than full when they leave here if they don’t have a national championship.
“She’s put herself in that position that if she leaves here without winning one, she’s going to feel less than full. I don’t feel that way and as I said, she’s doing things that no one’s ever done before. She’s had to do a lot for us the entire time she’s been here and she’s getting rewarded. Everything that you all have said about her, that everybody’s written about her, it’s all true.”
Bueckers and the Huskies will face Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 on Saturday in Spokane, Washington.
There will be a time when Bueckers will reflect on the memories of her time playing in Connecticut. She was not ready to consider Monday’s win as the final chapter of her UConn career.
“I’m sure we’ll have more time to reflect on it when the season is over,” Bueckers said. “Right now we’re super focused on the present but obviously just extremely grateful and you can’t really put into words how much this place has meant to me. I’m forever indebted and it’s become my second home.”
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UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts in the second half of a game against South Dakota State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
