Pacify Her | Paige Bueckers

fourteen | teamwork

"Azzi!" Coach Geno yelled, "play defense!"

Azzi had been trying to play defense, but she already had three fouls and was one more intentional stiff arm away from knocking Angelina Laurent, a Georgetown guard, into next Tuesday. Offensively, Azzi was on a roll with twenty-three points, shooting a clean six-for-six at the three point line, two-for-two within the paint, and one made free throw.

"Bro," Paige whispered as she got beside Azzi after a play, putting her arm around her shoulder. "What the hell are you doing?! You're letting that girl bully you." When Azzi was frustrated, everybody felt it.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do Paige?!" She hissed in a loud whisper. "I have three fouls, these refs aren't giving me shit, and I'm trying to not be ejected from the game." Azzi's cheeks flushed with anger as she tried to contain herself. She intended on entering the 2025 WNBA draft, so this was her last season as a Husky, same for Paige.

"Just try," Paige said as the whistle blew once more, setting everybody back in formation.

Paige walked to the inbound line, passing the ball to Amari, who immediately passed to Azzi. Angelina and Azzi had been guarding one another, so the six-foot-three shooting guard was on Azzi. Angelina swatted her arm downwards as she attempted to pick Azzi's pocket, knocking Azzi in the head in the process. It had been clear to Azzi that it was no longer unintentional. Azzi didn't process anything before chucking the ball at Angelina's face, making her stumble. As soon as she got up, she charged Azzi.

UConn was not known for rowdy behavior, coach Geno didn't play that shit. Not only that, but if anybody got off the bench, they were suspended. Still, as Angelina attempted to attack Azzi, UConn very quickly cleared and rushed to their teammates aid. But, of course, Paige did it first.

Paige tackled Angelina from the side as she was actively attempting to push Azzi. "You got the right one!" Paige made clear to Angelina whilst she lay on top of her on the floor, gripping her collar. Players from both teams were attempting to get Angelina and Paige off of one while Azzi picked her towel and bottle off the bench, headed to the locker room; she was suspended.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" KK demanded to Dena Fraser, Angelina's teammate. "Ima put yo ass in a headlock, girl." See, Ava was supposed to come to this game since it was a home game, but it's a damn good thing she didn't. When the hell did these women become WWE superstars?

Paige, KK, Aubrey, Caroline, and Kaitlyn Chen all headed to the locker room early—facing suspension. Azzi, who had already been in the locker room, was in good spirits, surprisingly. She immediately made her way over to Paige, feeling her face like a concerned mother. "Oh my gosh," Azzi panicked, "you have a bruise on your left cheekbone."

"From hitting the floor," Paige clarified. "She didn't hit me. Azzi could believe that, seeing as Paige turned into Bobby Wagner and tackled Angelina.

Both Paige and Azzi had taken note of Ava's absence. While one may argue that this was a good thing, Azzi understood that she and Ava did not end on a good note and she genuinely cared for Ava as a person. The same can be said for Paige, however Paige feared that Azzi will be upset if she expressed any kind of curiosity about Ava's whereabouts. Still, Paige's good character overrode her fears.

"Is Ava okay?" She asked KK as the girls waited for the game to finish. As she awaited an answer, Paige grabbed a bottle of water. "Wasn't she supposed to be at the game today? I could've sworn you said that on your TikTok live." KK nodded slightly, confirming that she had said it.

"She um," KK rubbed her hands together, ready to drop the bomb of Ava's diagnosis. Azzi flicked her wrist in a circular motion, indicating that KK was taking far too long. Azzi prepared herself to hear that Ava had been in an accident or something.

"She... recently got diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and she's been struggling with accepting herself for who she now is." Azzi's mouth fell immediately, but Paige, who is far more dramatic, spat out her water.

"Damn!" Paige replied, with Azzi rolling her eyes. "Was that necessary?" Azzi asked Paige.

"Yes!" Paige replied to Azzi, standing firm on her reaction. She looked at KK, "so shes actually crazy?"

"Girl boo," KK rolled her eyes. "She's not 'crazy,' there's just some small part of her brain that's wired differently." Paige and Azzi gave sympathetic looks.

"I hope she finds peace in understanding herself and her past actions better" Azzi spoke in a low tone. This revelation had hit everybody in different ways. Azzi felt like a horrible person for yelling at Ava now. Ava needed help all this time, not a taste of her own medicine. Paige sighed, thinking.

"Isn't it weird how we never consider what makes a person act a certain way?" Paige asked. "We just make up our minds about how we feel about them, not caring if they're fighting demons or not."

"I know how to cheer her up!" Azzi suggested, her face lighting up. "But it's gotta be in a few hours. I'm sure Coach Geno will make us run once this games over. Paige, KK and Azzi collectively sighed.

***

"Bend that ass over!" Paige, Azzi, KK and Ice yelled as they stood before Ava at the UConn WBB headquarters. KK, who was dressed up in a reindeer onesie—same as Paige and Azzi—told Ava that they had a surprise for her in the team lounge. Ice had been playing the role of Santa. As you can see, the women were singing "Rich Baby Daddy" by Drake.

"Let that coochie breathe!" The four yelled out, Ava squinting with her mouth slightly agape. "Shake that ass bitch, hands on your knees!"

"Hands on your knees!"
"Hands on your knees!"

"Please!" Ava groaned as she stood up, holding her head. "If this is some kind of punishment for what I've done to you guys, I'm sorry. I was gonna come around to apologizing, I just needed time."

Azzi was offended. "You think my well put together production was a punishment?"

"Between this and finding out that I'm mentally unstable," Ava folded her arms, "you would have thought my black ass was cursed."

"Well all jokes aside," Paige started, "we're here for you. It may not feel that way but we are. I'm willing to put the past behind me if you are."

"Thanks," Ava gave a sheepish smile. "Oh, and I saw the game on television. Nice clothesline tackle."