Freshman headliner on All-america team
Connecticut’s Bueckers living up to hype
Paige Bueckers came to Connecticut with a lot of hype surrounding her.
The freshman guard has lived up to it so far, delivering record-breaking performances and earning a spot on The Associated Press women’s basketball All-america team Wednesday.
She’s the third freshman to make the AP team, joining Oklahoma center Courtney Paris and Uconn forward Maya Moore.
Bueckers received 28 first-place votes from the national panel of 30 media members that vote each week in the AP Top 25 poll. She was joined by Louisville senior guard Dana Evans, South Carolina sophomore forward Aliyah Boston, Kentucky junior guard Rhyne Howard and Baylor junior forward Nalyssa Smith.
Bueckers averaged 19.7 points and 6.1 assists while shooting 54 percent from the field, including 47 percent from 3-point range. She became the first Uconn player to score 30 or more points in three straight games and set the school record for assists in a game with 14.
■ Oklahoma: Coach Sherri Coale retired after going 512-293 in 25 seasons with the Sooners, including 12-12 in 2020-21. The 56-year-old is a four-time Big 12 coach of the year who guided Oklahoma to six regular-season conference titles and four conference tournament titles.
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■ NIT: At Frisco, Texas, Taveion Hollingsworth hit two free throws with 3.3 seconds left and totaled 21 points to send third-seeded Western Kentucky (21-7) to a 69-67 win over second-seeded Saint Mary’s (14-10).
Also, at Denton, Texas, second-seeded Richmond (14-8) overcame the absence of its top two scorers in a 76-66 win over third-seeded Toledo (21-9).
■ Georgia Tech: Forward Moses Wright, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, will miss the Yellow Jackets’ NCAA Tournament opener and potentially another game because of COVID-19 issues, Stadium reported. The senior has averaged 17.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks in 2020-21.
■ South Carolina: Former center Art Whisnant died Tuesday after a long, unspecified illness. He was 81. The maternal grandfather of top-ranked golfer Dustin Johnson, Whisnant averaged 19.1 points and 9.2 rebounds in 79 games from 1959 to 1962.
■ Oklahoma: Guard De’vion Harmon tested positive for COVID-19 and won’t play Saturday, coach Lon Kruger said. The sophomore has averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 2020-21.
■ Drake: Coach Darian Devries agreed to an eight-year extension through 2028-29. The 45-year-old is 69-28 in three seasons, including 25-9 in 2020-21.