Paige Bueckers' UConn play gets eye-opening Geno Auriemma admission
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The UConn women's basketball team delivered a dominant 100-57 win over Villanova on Wednesday, extending their undefeated record in Big East play. Central to the win was Paige Bueckers, who recently became the fastest player in UConn history to reach 2,000 points.
Bueckers’ 21-point, nine-assist and eight-rebound performance in just 26 minutes against Villanova drew high praise from coach Geno Auriemma.
"There's a way that Paige manages the game that feels like she has complete control of the game, and that she can do whatever she wants," Auriemma said, as reported by Emily Adams of the Hartford Courant. "When she's in the game and everybody's looking at her and everybody's waiting to see what she's going to do, then for her to go off like she did today, it's infectious. Everybody catches it and starts to feed on it, and she has that effect, so I'm really, really excited about where she is right now."
Bueckers wasted no time establishing her presence. After being sidelined with a minor knee sprain in UConn's first meeting with Villanova on Jan. 5, she scored 14 points in the first quarter alone, shooting 6-for-7 from the field. By halftime, she had racked up 19 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals, eclipsing the 15 points she scored in the initial matchup. Her efficiency continued throughout the game, highlighted by a perfect 3-for-3 mark from beyond the arc and a 72.7% shooting percentage overall.
Sarah Strong leads UConn women’s basketball against Villanova
Freshman Sarah Strong led the Huskies with 22 points on 80% shooting, along with five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Kaitlyn Chen added a season-high 17 points for UConn, which has now won 29 consecutive conference regular-season games, per Jim Fuller of The Associated Press.
Villanova's Maddie Burke achieved a personal milestone, hitting her 200th career three-pointer, but the Wildcats struggled to contain UConn's offense, which shot 70% in the first half. With a 58-32 lead at halftime and a 42-point margin entering the fourth quarter, UConn's starters rested for the final period. Redshirt sophomore Ice Brady delivered her strongest performance since being moved to the bench in place of El Alfy, notching six points on perfect shooting along with two rebounds and two steals in just 11 minutes.
"It all comes with a double-edged sword," Auriemma said, per Adams. "I want the guys that I'm counting on to get a lot of minutes … and you build great chemistry that way. You build a lot of cohesiveness in your offense that way … It's great that we have this many players, but I need to make sure that the right players are getting the right amount of minutes, and then whatever I can find for everybody else is great."
The game was a historic offensive performance for the No. 6 Huskies, marking their highest-scoring game against Villanova in 63 matchups since 1981 and their second 100-point game of the season.
UConn, now 18-2 overall and 9-0 in conference play, will face Creighton on Saturday. Villanova, sitting at 10-10, will host Xavier the same day.
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