Georgia Tech shuts down No. 3 UConn 57-44 with star Bueckers sidelined

ATLANTA — Geno Auriemma wasn’t feeling too good about his UConn Huskies even when they had their best player.

Now that Paige Bueckers is sidelined for up to two months with an injury, the longtime coach is really feeling pessimistic.

Georgia Tech made No. 3 UConn look downright feeble in the final quarter, pulling away for 57-44 victory Thursday night that showed just how tough its going to be for the Huskies without the reigning national player of the year.

“We’re in a bad way right now as a team,” Auriemma said. “I don’t think we’re gonna get it fixed. I really don’t. I’ve been doing this a long, long time. I know coaches are supposed to be optimistic, eternal optimists. But I’m too old to be optimist. I’m a realist. I truly believe what I see.”

With both teams struggling to muster offense, the game was tied at halftime (28-28) and at the end of the third quarter (39-39).

But Georgia Tech (7-2) pulled away in the fourth quarter before a raucous crowd of 4,578 to snap UConn’s 240-game winning streak against unranked opponents.

The Huskies’ last such loss came against St. John’s on Feb. 18, 2012.

It also marked the first time since 2006 that UConn (5-2) has been held under 45 points in a game.

Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 15 points and Nerea Hermosa chipped in with 13 points to lead the Yellow Jackets, who played with plenty of inspiration after revealing that associate head coach Tasha Butts is being treated for advanced-stage breast cancer.

The players were told of Butts’ illness last week. Since then, they’ve knocked off No. 21 Georgia 55-54, followed by one of the biggest wins in school history.

“She’s a fighter,” Lahtinen said. “We play for her all the time. She’s a part of us, she’s a part of our team — a really, really big part.”

The 39-year-old Butts plans to keep coaching as much as possible while undergoing treatment. She was at the arena for the pregame shootaround but not on the bench for the game.

Instead, Butts visited with the team on FaceTime after their victory.

“We want her on bench with us, but she needs to take care of herself right now,” Lahtinen said. “Hopefully, she’ll be back with us soon. We’re in this fight with her.”