The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Freshmen deliver once again
Bueckers and Edwards lead charge past Butler
Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards may be freshmen, but in name only.
In a season filled with jawdropping feats, two of the youngest Huskies delivered once again in No. 1 UConn’s 97-68 rout of Butler on Saturday at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Bueckers set a school single-game record with 14 assists, and in the process, surpassed the freshman record of 123 shared by Pam Webber and Renee Montgomery. Edwards had herself a day, too, posting career-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
“She just plays the game the way big guys are supposed to play,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said of the 6-foot-3 Edwards. “She plays big. Paige and Nika (Muhl) have done a great job with the ball. … Obviously we got a great game out of Paige.”
Four Huskies joined Edwards in double figures. Bueckers scored 20, and Evina Westbrook contributed 16 points, her highest
total since Jan. 28. Christyn Williams chipped in 15 points and six rebounds, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 11 points and nine boards.
The Huskies improved to 17-0 in the Big East and 20-1 overall, hitting the 20-win mark for the 28th consecutive season. They will wrap up the regular season Monday against Marquette at Gampel Pavilion.
Bueckers had nine assists in the first half, and broke the single-game mark of 13 — shared by Susie Sturman, Laura Lishness and Montgomery — on a feed to (who else) Edwards late in the fourth quarter. She now has 130 assists on the season.
Edwards noted that she had locked Bueckers out of her hotel room Saturday morning, and thus was relieved to be part of history.
“I’m glad it was me, that’s all I can say,” Edwards said with a laugh.
After managing only 35 points in their first meeting last month, the Bulldogs surprised UConn with an early 3-point shooting barrage. They connected on 5 of 9 attempts from deep in the first quarter and 10 of 21 in the half, even taking the lead on a few different occasions.
However, UConn used a 14-4 run to pull into halftime up 53-39, and separated itself some more once Butler started to cool off. The Bulldogs (2-16) finished 14 of 36 from 3.
“The second half I thought our defense was much better,” Auriemma said. “Our ball movement was much better.”
Edwards had a big hand in that, of course. She was both tough and efficient, making 6 of 7 shots in the second half and 9 of 10 overall.
“When you watch Aaliyah play, you just are impressed with her work ethic, how hard she competes, and how aggressive her mindset is, her competitiveness,” Auriemma said.
Edwards says she’s feeling more comfortable now. It’s not a coincidence her production has begun to take off. Saturday was her second double-double in three games and her sixth time scoring in doublefigures this month.
“I overthink sometimes to be more perfect than anything (and put) more pressure on myself,” Edwards said. “But throughout the season, I’ve learned to kind of just read and react more than overthink.”
Said Auriemma: “Freshman post players, it just takes a little bit of time. It takes being out there enough times to realize the game’s a little bit different than it was when you were in high school. The people they’re playing against are more their size, their aggressiveness, and their ability to contest what you want to do.”
Note: SNY revealed that sophomore Anna Makurat is dealing with a stress fracture in her lower leg, an injury that has sidelined her 12 straight games. … Auriemma said of hitting 20 wins again: “That used to be the standard. You were a hell of a team if you won 20 games. And if you could win 20 games consistently, you were a great program. So the consistency over the 30-something years is what’s most remarkable to me, especially in a pandemic year like this year when so much was upside down.”