Paige Bueckers takes over to hand over UConn No. 2 to beat South Carolina No. 1 in OT

UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma likes to make analogies with other sports, so the famous runner Jim Brown emerged when Auriemma talked about first-year sensation Paige Bueckers.

Bueckers had his third straight game of 30 points or more, something no other UConn player has ever done, as his 31 points lifted the Huskies no. Connecticut. The 5-foot-11 guard scored the Huskies ’13 final points, including nine in the extra period, and played all 45 minutes. He made 14 of 26 shots from the field and had 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals.

“It’s very slow, and I say it with a high degree of gratitude,” Auriemma said. “It takes its time … it’s like when Jim Brown ran. When he gets the ball, it’s like, ‘If I have to go to that hole, that hole, that … what’s the best decision for me now same? ? She waits until the absolute last minute and nothing rushes her, so you can’t make her play faster than she wants to play.

“When you’re as good a shooter as she is … she really just has a lot of confidence in her skills. If she can get one, she thinks she’s coming in. Sometimes I marvel at how hard she has to work because of defensive attention. she gets every night. She’s very good.

That match did not turn into a clash between the top two ranked teams until Monday afternoon, when the Associated Press poll came out. The eleven-time UConn national champion has participated in many of these clashes since he was promoted to the national category in the 1990s. Although the Huskies are 14-1, this is not a powerful team like many UConn in the past; even Auriemma would say so.

But he has a freshman who goes over the screens and takes a step forward in the bigger moments as a longtime veteran. Bueckers, who was the No. 1 recruit in the 2020 class, leads the Huskies in scoring (21.1 PPG), assists (5.6 APG) and steals (2.6 SPG). It is firing 56.9% from the field and 55.6% from three points.

UConn has had a treasure trove of past superstars who also had notable freshman seasons, including Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart in the last 20 years, who went on to become the WNBA MVP. None of them, however, played on a team with six other freshmen, as Bueckers does. It means it’s your team in a way that wasn’t for those other superstars as freshmen. She is getting a huge focus and so far is surpassing even beyond expectations.

“She’s a player,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “He makes great shots when his number is repeated over and over again.”

However, if the Gamecocks had hit one of the four shots they had in the basket at the end of regulation: Destanni Henderson’s jump was short, then Victaria Saxton missed a rebound, followed by Aliyah Boston’s two failed recovery attempts. . they have been the story of the night.

The Gamecocks will clear their missed throws, which ruined their normally lethal transition game, made free throws (passed 8 of 15) and changed (21). They kept the Huskies 24 points below the season average of 87.1 entering the game, keeping them just 2 of 15 behind the arc and beating them 52-39.

South Carolina finished the 2019-20 ranked No. 1 season and started this one in the same place, before losing to NC State on December 3rd. on Jan. 17 and Louisville took over at No. 1. When NC State beat Louisville last Monday, South Carolina returned to No. 1 in this week’s poll.

But it will be a short stay, because the mistakes of the Gamecocks and the big shots of Bueckers on Monday caused them. The second of the Huskies triples came from Bueckers with 13 seconds left, hitting the edge, bouncing in the air and then falling over the net.

“I felt good when he let go of my hand,” said Bueckers, who missed his other five 3-point attempts. “But, yeah, I’d say it was a good rebound.”

It was that kind of night for her, but she’s already become a regular at just 14 games of her college career. [she missed one game with an ankle sprain]. Bueckers also had a 3-point lead with 28 seconds to go against Tennessee on Jan. 21, which was the stab of that 67-61 victory.

“It’s still crazy for me,” Bueckers said of how he started his career at UConn. “Only the blessings they have given me, only the opportunities I have received. Everything is so crazy for me that I am here playing in my dream school in huge games like this with an amazing team and technical staff. Day, every second, every minute, I’m so grateful to be here. “