Paige Bueckers puts team first. And while she was sidelined for three months with a left knee injury, the 20-year-old guard was steadfast on getting healthy to help the UConn Huskies make yet another Women’s NCAA Tournament run. On Monday, in double-overtime vs. NC State in the Elite 8, Bueckers came through to lead UConn to a 91-87 win, a victory that serves as the first-ever 2OT game in an Elite Eight contest in Women’s NCAA Tournament history.
Rewind to Feb. 25th when Bueckers returned to the court from that knee injury. She finished with eight points in a 73-54 win over Notre Dame on a minutes restriction.
After the game, Bueckers said, “I’m not really focused about me and getting back to the old me and doing what I did before because we’re such a different team now. So whatever my team needs me to do, I’m going to try to do it.”
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The Huskies didn’t need much from Bueckers that night. They needed everything from her to survive Monday’s Elite Eight thriller.
In UConn’s double-overtime victory over NC State, Bueckers poured in 27 points in 45 minutes, hitting 10 of her 15 field goal attempts. She scored 23 of those 27 points in the second half and overtime periods.
Bueckers did much of her damage from the perimeter, punishing Wolfpack defenders who didn’t stick with her through screens. She came up clutch in the fourth quarter…
Paige Bueckers gives UConn the lead with two minutes to go! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/TcGcOkkitl
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 29, 2022
The first overtime…
PAIGE BUECKERS IS TAKING OVERpic.twitter.com/uYt2itlyPE
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) March 29, 2022
And the second overtime.
BUECKERS CANNOT MISS RIGHT NOW.
She has 15 in OT alone, 27 in total! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/dKXEysIT7h
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 29, 2022
As Huskies guard Christyn Williams said after the game, the formula was pretty simple.
“Literally, I was thinking, we have Paige Bueckers, and they don’t,” Williams said. “I mean, once she makes one, the rim is like this big. She’s gonna keep making ’em, so we keep giving her the ball.”
UConn has now reached 14 straight Final Fours, but it wasn’t all that long ago that streak felt like it was going to end. These Huskies have gone through more ups and downs than a typical Geno Auriemma team, including a serious wrist injury to forward Dorka Juhasz on Monday night.
“This team has been through so much, and it’s only made us stronger,” Bueckers told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game. “If we see one of our sisters go down, we’re gonna do it for her. We all love each other. We’re all so close. I just love this team.”
Two days ago, I said win or go home. But, we won and I’m still going home! So, this is crazy! I’m so excited no matter the location, no matter where it is. I’m just super excited.
Now, UConn will move on to face Stanford in the national semifinals. It won’t be easy to take down the defending champs, but the Huskies know they always have a chance to win as long as No. 5 is on the floor.
Or, as Auriemma put it: “Thank God Paige came back.”