Paige Bueckers is the headliner on a team featuring three UConn alumni. Caitlin Clark and her three South Carolina teammates will try to contain them.
It will be UConn women’s basketball vs. South Carolina. Again.
The Huskies defeated the Gamecocks 82-59 in the championship game of the NCAA Women’s Tournament in 2025. South Carolina ousted previously undefeated UConn 62-48 in a national semifinal this past April.
The third part of the recent trilogy will come July 25 in the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game at United Center in Chicago.
UConn vs. South Carolina all-stars
Rosters were selected Wednesday with the two top vote-getters – Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever – each assigned to a team.
Former WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon were named honorary general managers and tasked with building the roster around each of the young star guards, with Weatherspoon drafting for Clark’s team (called Team Spoon) and Cooper for Bueckers’ squad (Team Coop).
With the first pick, Weatherspoon chose A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces; Cooper selected Breanna Stewart with her first-round pick.
And by the time they were done, Bueckers’ team had three UConn alumni. Clark is joined by three former South Carolina players.
UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards (3) takes a shot over South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston during the second half of the 2022 national championship game in Minneapolis. South Carolina won the title, 64–49, Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesThe rosters
These are the full rosters, as chosen by Weatherspoon and Cooper – both members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The first five players listed for each squad are the starters.
Team Coop
Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings
Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever
Natasha Howard, Minnesota Lynx
Gabby Williams, Golden State Valkyries
Angel Reese, Atlanta Dream
Marina Mabrey, Toronto Tempo
Dominique Malonga, Seattle Storm
Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles Sparks
Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces
Sonia Citron, Washington Mystics
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) were the leading vote-getters in WNBA All-Star balloting. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn ImagesTeam Spoon
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx
Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever
Jessica Shepard, Dallas Wings
Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream
Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty
Courtney Williams, Minnesota Lynx
Kiki Iriafen, Washington Mystics
Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks
Bueckers, Stewart and Gabby Williams are the UConn alumni on Team Coop.
Team Spoon includes former South Carolina players Wilson, Boston and Gray.
Who to watch?
The best matchup of UConn vs. South Carolina players undoubtedly is Stewart vs. Wilson. Both 6-foot-4, they are two of the most dominant players of this generation, with a lengthy list of honors to prove it.
Stewart was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2016 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm. She is a three-time NBA champion (2018, 2020 with the Storm, 2024 with the Liberty) a two-time league MVP and an eight-time All-Star.
The Aces made Wilson the No. 1 pick of the 2018 draft. She also is a three-time NBA champion (2022, 2023, 2025), a four-time league MVP and an eight-time All-Star.
Both players have August birthdays. Stewart will be 32, with Wilson turning 30.
On the season, Stewart is averaging 20.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Wilson has averages of 25.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
Wilson leads the league in points per game. Stewart is sixth. Both stand behind Reese, who averages 11.8 rebounds per game, on that leaderboard.
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