UConn beats Providence in Big East tourney despite injury to Edwards
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — No. 9 UConn has become used to overcoming injuries and the Huskies had to do it again on Saturday.
Paige Bueckers scored 29 points and top-seeded Connecticut (275) beat ninth-seeded Providence 86-53 in the Big East quarterfinals despite losing star center Aaliyah Edwards while up by just six points in the second half.
Freshman KK Arnold added 17 points and the Huskies, who went undefeated in the Big East during the regular season, advanced to a conference semifinal for the 36th straight season.
Edwards had 12 points before leaving the game in the second half with a facial injury. Her status for the rest of the tournament was unclear after the game.
UConn entered the tournament with just eight available players, having already dealt with five season-ending injuries.
“It’s just been numbing for us to the point where there was nothing much you could say other than, ‘This is it, this is what we’ve got,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
Grace Efosa had 23 points and eight rebounds for Providence, which finished the season at 13-20.
The Friars trailed by just 10 points at halftime and scored the first five points of the second half.
“I have been really working on getting our women to start out strong, and that’s something that is important, I think, for really good teams,” Providence coach Erin Batth said. “But then you have to finish as well.”
It was 41-35 when Edwards took an elbow to the face from Sarah Bandoma four minutes into the third quarter. The senior center, who came into the game averaging 17.9 points and 9.5 rebounds, had to be helped to the locker room.
Bueckers missed both free throws on the intentional foul, but UConn responded to the injury by outscoring Providence 45-18 the rest of the way.
Bueckers 3-pointer sent the Huskies into the fourth quarter leading 62-45 and a jumper from backup center Ice Brady put the Huskies up 67-47.
Friars star Olivia Olsen, who was dealing with an ankle injury, played just 19 minutes and scored just two points.
Edwards returned to the bench with a splint on her nose and cotton in both nostrils with just over five minutes left in the game.
JENKINS SCORES 23 AS ST. JOHN’S TOPS G’TOWN
Daniss Jenkins scored 23 points as St. John’s beat Georgetown 86-78 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
Jenkins added seven assists for the Red Storm (19-12, 11-9 Big East Conference). RJ Luis added 16 points while going 6 of 8 and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line while he also had three steals. Chris Ledlum went 6 of 6 from the field to finish with 14 points.
Jayden Epps led the way for the Hoyas (9-22, 2-18) with 23 points and six steals. Jay Heath added 14 points for Georgetown. Drew Fielder also had 12 points.
NYCFC DROPS HOME OPENER TO TIMBERS ON LATE GOALS
Evander found the top right corner of the goal at the 97th minute and Portland spoiled NYCFC’s home opener with a 2-1 win on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
NYCFC led for most of the contest until Antony took a pass from Juan Mosquera — and from the middle of the box — put it high in the center of the goal at the 85th-minute to level the score at 1. Antony provided the assist on Evander’s match winner.
In the third game of the year, Santiago Rodríguez scored NYCFC’s first goal of the season 10 minutes in putting in a shot from the right side of the box.
NYCFC (0-3-0) outshot Portland on goal 6-3 and had 11 shot attempts to nine for the Timbers (2-0-1).
VERSTAPPEN WINS TO EXTEND DOMINANT F1 START
Max Verstappen stayed firmly on course for another season of dominance in Formula 1 on Saturday by winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Even after just two races, and despite turmoil at Red Bull, Verstappen seems in near-total control on the track as he aims for a fourth consecutive title this year. Still, he had to share the attention with 18-year-old Oliver Bearman, who was a surprise seventh in his first F1 race as a Ferrari stand-in.
“A fantastic weekend for the whole team and also for myself. I felt really good with the car,” Verstappen said.
The Dutch driver won easily ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez by 8.6 seconds on the road, 13.6 once a time penalty for Perez was factored in. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third.
Verstappen started on pole and held off Leclerc at the first corner, as he did last week at the season-opener in Bahrain which he won, before quickly building his lead.
Verstappen has won nine races in a row going back to last season, and 19 of the last 20 races in total. The next race in Australia on March 24 offers him the chance to match his own record of 10 consecutive wins, set last year.
Saturday’s race was the 100th podium finish of Verstappen’s career and his 56th win, a signal of just how dominant his recent title-winning seasons with Red Bull have been.
Bearman was seventh for Ferrari, one day after the British driver was called up as an emergency replacement for Carlos Sainz Jr., who needed an operation to treat appendicitis.
Oscar Piastri took fourth for McLaren, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso fifth and George Russell sixth for Mercedes.
Behind Bearman, McLaren’s Lando Norris held off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in a fight for eighth place.