SAN ANTONIO – UConn freshman Paige Bueckers made a big entry into the Huskies’ famous NCAA tournament on Sunday, setting a school record for most points in a tournament debut with 24 in a thrashing of 102-59 of 16 points High Point.
The highly acclaimed award, named to the Associated Press All-America team last week, added nine rebounds and six assists, while the front-line Huskies cost without their coach, Geno Auriemma, on the bench due to COVID-19 protocols.
“I was excited to come out here,” Bueckers said. “We’ve been practicing since August for the March madness, and we’re just excited for it to happen. We know that through the ups and downs of this year, we’re just excited and happy to be here.”
For Bueckers, however, apart from playing well, nothing was so normal in his first tournament match. After all, Auriemma watched the game from home in Connecticut, with longtime associate head coach Chris Dailey filling in. However, Bueckers could still feel Auriemma’s presence.
“I could hear Coach yelling in my ear. I think in the first quarter I did about two shots, so I know he was yelling on TV, I know he was yelling at me,” he said. “So I knew it in the second quarter, so I tried to be more aggressive.”
Bueckers said he gets nervous before any match, but in an opening tournament with unusual circumstances, such as playing in an empty Alamodome, he showed the kind of balance he has been known for. She didn’t reveal her inexperience until postgame, when she did geeky without hassle while interviewing ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
“It’s a freshman year, and I just wanted to say I’m a big Holly Rowe fan, and it’s always been a dream of mine to be interviewed by her after a game,” she said with a big smile. “So I’m just excited to be here.”
In fact, Bueckers started slowly, but asserted himself noticeably after an injury to the ankle of starting guard Nika Muhl, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the first half in a series of basket climbs and pullers.
“He likes to feel the game and he likes to involve his teammates,” Dailey said. “I thought we had to start running plays to get their shots. That’s what we did, and that helped a lot.
“Her pull-up reminds me a lot of Sue Bird. When Sue Bird did a pull-up, I thought it was automatic and never missed it,” Dailey said. “And I think the same light with Paige, it’s just automatic with her pull-up.”
Bueckers said the change of coach was “different,” but noted the importance it provided for the continuity of Dailey’s experience.
“The coach and the CD have been doing this for 36 years, so they obviously have a very high IQ for basketball,” Bueckers said. “When the coach comes out, the CD goes up. Viously, obviously, it’s different for the coach to call us and the CD to call us, but they’re both good basketball minds and we can count on them.”
Bueckers has taken on a leadership role within the Young Huskies, unusual for a team historically full of experienced depth and stellar power. But with seven freshmen and no seniors, Bueckers has welcomed the burden of responsibility, something Dailey said often highlights the next team.
“Paige has absolutely another gear. The more physical the game, the more she thinks she needs it, the faster the gear becomes,” Dailey said. “Paige has another team and when she gets to that point, it’s hard to stop her.”
While the Huskies handled High Point with relative ease, they know the games will be tougher from here on out. The number 8 of Syracuse, which is the 67th anniversary of Auriemma, awaits them on Tuesday.
Bueckers is already thinking about the obvious present.
“I hope to get a win,” he said, “so he can come out here with us.”
Sunday was the 12th time in her debut season that Bueckers surpassed 20 points, and tied for 24 points in the fourth inning for a UConn freshman in the NCAA tournament since 2000, according to research of ESPN Stats & Information.