Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins headline Associated Press' women's All-America team

[ASFN Admin]

With March Madness set to begin, college basketball's regular-season honors are already pouring in. Fans got a glimpse of what to expect during award season Wednesday, as Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins and Lauren Betts were among the biggest names to make the Associated Press' women's All-America team.

Betts, Bueckers and Watkins were all named to the AP's First Team. They were the only three players to be unanimous All-Americans.

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Here's the full AP women's All-America team:

First team

• 
  Paige Bueckers, Senior, UConn
  
  
• 
  JuJu Watkins, Sophomore, USC
  
  
• 
  Lauren Betts, Junior, UCLA
  
  
• 
  Hannah Hidalgo, Sophomore, Notre Dame
  
  
• 
  Madison Booker, Sophomore, Texas
  

Second team

• 
  Aneesah Morrow, Senior, LSU
  
  
• 
  Ta'Niya Latson, Junior, Florida State
  
  
• 
  Olivia Miles, Senior, Notre Dame
  
  
• 
  Sarah Strong, Freshman, UConn
  
  
• 
  Georgia Amoore, Senior, Kentucky
  

Third team

• 
  Hailey Van Lith, Senior, TCU
  
  
• 
  Kiki Iriafen, Senior, USC
  
  
• 
  Mikayla Blakers, Freshman, Vanderbilt
  
  
• 
  Flau'Jae Johnson, Junior, LSU
  
  
• 
  Audi Crooks, Sophomore, Iowa State
  

A number of players received honorable mentions for the team, including Notre Dame's Sonia Citron and South Carolina's Te-Hina Paopao, both of who are expected to be early selections in the 2025 WNBA Draft, which will be held April 14.

Paige Bueckers seeking championship before WNBA Draft​

Bueckers, thought to be the top player in the WNBA Draft, has unfinished business before she can focus on the pros. Despite coming close multiple times, the 23-year-old has yet to win a national championship.

As a freshman, Bueckers lost to Arizona in the Final Four. The following season, she led UConn to the national championship game, where they fell to South Carolina. After tearing her ACL, Bueckers redshirted in 2002. She returned to UConn for her junior year, where she once again lost in the Final Four.

As a senior, Bueckers has averaged 19.0 points and 4.9 assists for the Huskies. UConn finished with a 31-3 record, earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. She'll take on the No. 15 ranked Arkansas State on Saturday.

Should UConn make another deep run, it would set up a possible Elite Eight matchup with Watkins and USC. Watkins turned in yet another phenomenal season with the Trojans, averaging 24.6 points and leading the team to a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

If Bueckers can overcome that challenge, she would advance to the Final Four for the fourth time in her college career.

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