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When the bracket for the NCAA Women's Championship was revealed, fans' eyes fixated on one particular matchup that looked bound to happen in the Elite Eight. The stars aligned for Paige Bueckers and UConn to face JuJu Watkins and USC. Unfortunately, a knee injury for Watkins put an end to that dream, but Bueckers did her part on Sunday.
The senior scored 31 points, leading the Huskies to the Final Four and continuing what has been an outstanding tournament on a personal level. There was a moment during the game, off the court, that stood out more than Bueckers' performance though. Bueckers might be closer to Caitlin Clark than we thought.
Paige Bueckers brings out fans in droves and they copy her style
A video taken by Yahoo! Sports showed several young fans in the stands sporting Bueckers' trademark braided hairstyle. They called it "The Paige Bueckers Effect".
It's one thing for fans to wear jerseys of a player, but it's impressive that many fans feel so connected with Bueckers that they've even copied her look.
It's nothing new for fans of women's basketball to come out in droves to see a certain player. We never quite saw it like what happened with Clark at Iowa and now in the WNBA, but Bueckers clearly has a pull that's somewhat underrated. And it's only getting stronger.