Impact performance
Bueckers, UConn rout Hoyas, advance to Big East semifinals
UNCASVILLE — Paige Bueckers missed her first three shots in UConn’s victory over Georgetown on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Yet in the 13-minute span from her first shot attempt to her first basket, the star sophomore had four assists and a steal as the Huskies built a lead. She made her first basket at 1:23 in the second quarter — a 3-pointer to put UConn up by 31.
Bueckers, in her third game back, led UConn with 16 points in the 84-38 win. She also had five rebounds, four assists and one steal in 18 minutes.
“She impacts the game in so many different ways,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “To be able to add somebody like that to your team, I think that’s pretty significant. Not very many people are going to be able to do that at this time of the year. But she’s still a ways away from we need her to be.”
The 5-foot-11 Bueckers had surgery on her left knee Dec. 13 after injuring herself in the final minute of UConn’s game against Notre Dame on Dec. 5.
After sitting out through 10 weeks of recovery from a tibial plateau fracture and a meniscus tear, Bueckers had her best showing Saturday since her return. She converted 6 of 9 shots, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and was active in all facets.
“Obviously, she’s still trying to find her role, but Paige is still Paige,” senior Christyn Williams said. “She’s still a shooter. She still has assists and is always looking to get people open. She’s still the same player.”
Auriemma said Thursday he didn’t expect Bueckers to play anywhere near a full 40 minutes this weekend. She played 18 minutes against ninth-seeded Georgetown, but UConn didn’t need more from her.
When will she be able to approach 40 minutes? The coach said she’s getting closer game by game.
“It’s hard to say exactly where she is on that timeline,” Auriemma said. “I really don’t know how close she is. I know she’s not there yet. I know she was probably anxious to play more than she played the
first couple games. … It’s probably something different for her coming off the bench, not that that’s going to be how we’re gonna do it going forward. But little by little, it improves every day.”
UConn — which will face No. 5 Marquette in the semifinals Sunday (3 p.m.) — is looking for more than just a tournament title crown this weekend. The Huskies not only need to win the championship but to do so in dominant fashion in an effort to earn a spot in the Bridgeport regional in the NCAA Tournament.
The latest ESPN projection bracket has the Huskies at the No. 2 seed in the Greensboro regional. With a few high seeds across the bracket losing in their conference tournaments this week — including Louisville, LSU and Michigan — the Huskies’ best chance at staying local comes down to how they perform this weekend.
Before their losses, LSU and Michigan were No. 2 seeds in their regions in the last NCAA top-16 reveal and UConn was a No. 3 seed. There may be an opportunity for UConn to secure a No. 2 seed with a run through the Big East Tournament.
“They’re playing for a national championship,” Georgetown coach James Howard said. “They ain’t playing for a Big East championship, they’re playing for a national championship, and with the mindset of what they bring to the floor, it’s about getting back and finding their chemistry just because of the injuries that they had faced.
“At this time, this isn’t about Georgetown, this isn’t about any other team in the Big East right now. It’s about them. It’s about finding their chemistry to go forward in this tournament and in the NCAA.”
Ten of the 11 Huskies who played against Georgetown scored, with four finishing in double figures. Williams followed Bueckers with 15, then Aaliyah Edwards with 14 and Azzi Fudd with 11. Edwards and Dorka Juhász each led with seven rebounds while Nika Mühl led with six assists.
Williams got things going for UConn (23-5, 16-1 Big East) with a 3-pointer at 6:44 in the first. While the Hoyas put up a brief 6-3 lead, UConn ended the first quarter on a 19-0 run in which Williams contributed 13 points.
The Huskies’ defense smothered Georgetown (10-19, 4-15) the rest of the game. The Hoyas went nearly 15 minutes without a field goal between the first two quarters. The team’s nine points (on 3-of-20 shooting) at halftime was the lowest by a UConn opponent in an opening half all season and tied for fewest points scored in an opening half in the Big East Tournament since 2005.
“They’re a very aggressive team that take away passing lanes, that jumps, everything that you’re trying to do,” Howard said. “They’re not going allow you to get into rhythm.”
UConn led by 34 after the first 20 minutes, scoring 17 points from Georgetown’s 17 first-half turnovers. The blowout win was the fourth straight game in which the Huskies have held an opponent to 38 points or fewer.
“The team that we have, we thrive on defense, and it helps us get going offensively,” Williams said. “If we start off aggressive on the defensive end it gets us going. I just think we need to play all of our games like that and with that mindset.”