Paige Bueckers scores 34 in final home game, UConn tops SDSU 91-57 to reach 31st straight Sweet 16
Paige Bueckers scores 34 in final home game, UConn tops SDSU 91-57 to reach 31st straight Sweet 16
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers’ scoring and KK Arnold’s defense powered UConn into its 31st consecutive Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Bueckers matched her career high with 34 points in her final home game before leaving to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd at Gampel Pavilion. Arnold came off the bench to impact the game with defensive pressure, helping second-seeded UConn turn its meeting with No. 10 seed South Dakota State into a 91-57 runaway on Monday night.
“Paige was Paige,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “It was a great way to finish your (home) career. There is no better way than with a game like that, a performance like that.”
Bueckers grabbed a microphone and addressed the adoring crowd before walking off the Gampel floor for the last time. She is expected to be the top pick in the WNBA draft. Before that, she wants to lead UConn to four more victories and the program’s record 12th national title.
“I haven’t had a wave or rush of emotions hit me yet because we’re so locked in and focused on the task at hand and being present in the moment,” Bueckers said. “We didn’t look at it as our last game as Gampel. We looked at it as the second-round NCAA Tournament game that we’re trying to win and trying to keep advancing.”
Azzi Fudd scored 17 points and Sarah Strong finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks for the Huskies (33-3), who will face Oklahoma in a regional semifinal in Spokane, Washington.
Paige Meyer had 16 points for South Dakota State (30-4).
Brooklyn Meyer, the Jackrabbits’ leading scorer who is not related to Paige Meyer, went down with an ankle injury in 30.9 seconds left in the first half and had to be helped to the locker room. She returned for the second half and finished with four points in 28 minutes.
The Jackrabbits led by six points twice in the first quarter behind the strong play of Paige Meyer, the program’s single-season leader in assists. UConn responded by bringing in Arnold, whose ball pressure helped stifle the South Dakota State offense.
“We were just trying to find her weak points and creating havoc,” said Arnold, who finished with six points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in 19 minutes. “We were trying to limit her shots. It was very fun because my defense creates a lot of (opportunities). I get so excited.”
Bueckers took care of the rest. The All-America guard scored UConn’s last 10 points of the first quarter, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Bueckers had seven points in a 16-2 run in the second quarter to push the lead to 21. UConn made 10 shots in a row at one point in the second quarter and eight in a row in the third quarter.
Up next
The landscape of the Spokane 4 Region changed Monday night when star JuJu Watkins of top-seeded Southern California went down with a right knee injury in the first quarter against Mississippi State in Los Angeles. UConn beat USC in a regional final last year, and the teams would get a rematch if the seeding holds.
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By JIM FULLER
Associated Press
