Paige Bueckers, UConn outlast Duke to advance to Elite Eight vs. USC

PORTLAND — There was a UConn fan in the stands at Moda Center on Saturday night who pulled her long, blond hair back into a ponytail with braids in the front, just like UConn star guard Paige Bueckers.

She held up a sign: “Paige, am I doing this right?” and high-fived Bueckers as she ran from the UConn bench back to the locker room.

These days, everyone wants to be like Bueckers, who again starred for the No. 3 Huskies in a 53-45 win against No. 7 Duke on Saturday night that now advances the Huskies to their 22nd Elite 8 in the past 24 NCAA Tournaments. Bueckers scored 24 of her team’s 53 points on a night when the Huskies were particularly short-handed after forward Aaliyah Edwards picked up her fourth foul midway through the third quarter. UConn played just six players all night, but shot 40 percent from the field, compared to Duke’s 33-percent mark, and scored 23 points off 23 Duke turnovers — the difference in the game.

“I don’t know that I have one,” coach Geno Auriemma said, asked for an opening statement in the postgame newsconference.
Duke trailed 23-13 at the half after offense was hard to come by in the first two quarters. The Blue Devils went down by as many 20 points late in the third quarter, when UConn took a 42-22 lead.

“I think it was just crowded (down low) the whole night, so when we did get touches in the paint, there were multiple players in there. They did a great job of bringing multiple players when we got catches and it flustered us,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “It was the first Sweet 16 for everyone on our roster and we were scattered to start.”

But the Blue Devils crept back in down the stretch, cutting the deficit to just five points with just under two minutes remaining. The Huskies ultimately held on, led by Bueckers, as well as Edwards and guard KK Arnold, who both scored 12 points.

“I think defensively we were just playing smarter than we did on the offensive end but I think that we took care of those possessions on the defensive end,” Edwards said. “We did a good job disrupting.”

Auriemma said he could tell his team was fatigued down the stretch, which forced him to change his game plan. He credited the Huskies’ tempo for the 20-point lead, saying UConn just “pushed it, pushed it, pushed it.”

“And then I felt like, ‘OK. We need a breather here or we’re not going to be able to finish the game,” he said. “And then I think by doing that, we got a little bit — (we) kind of took a deep breath. We were exercising and then we decided to have a cigarette and then we didn’t feel like exercising anymore. So it was hard for us to get back into the flow of things. But I knew scoring was going to be very, very difficult, very difficult on both ends.”

Next up, UConn plays USC in what will be a must-see matchup featuring Bueckers and Trojans star freshman JuJu Watkins. Asked about Watkins, Bueckers said it will be best for the Huskies if they limit her touches as much as possible.

Auriemma, who joked that he needed a drink and maybe an ice bath after Saturday’s game, said his team understands it cannot make this a one-on-one matchup.

“They understand that it’s USC versus UConn, not Paige versus JuJu. Because if we try to make it that — and this has happened a lot — somebody on their team will get 30, and then we’ll all go home and go, ‘Yeah, we lost, but we did a great job on JuJu, man. Congratulations,’” he said.

“It’s got to be our team versus their team and see how it plays out. And I’m sure they’re not out there thinking, ‘Let’s spend all our energy guarding Paige.’”

Required reading

(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)