Spokane, Washington (AP)-Paige Bueckers scored a 40-point career summit, saving Uconn from his first half slots and alone transforming a tight match against Oklahoma into a rout of 82-59 which sent the Huskies to the Eight of Women’s Eight Women NCAA tournament.
Bueckers had 29 points after half-time For the Huskies, which dragged 36-32 at the break. The overall choice probably n ° 1 in the draft of the WNBA has overshadowed its best career record of 34 points, established Monday in Uconn Victory in the second round on the state of southern DakotaHis last home game at Gampel Pavilion.
The electrifying senior guard equaled its career summit with six 3 points, the last two in a personal race of 10-0 in the fourth quarter. Bueckers came out of the game with 3:06 on the left and Uconn in advance 80-51.
“Obviously, Paige was spectacular,” said Uconn coach Geno Auriemma. “It was as good game as I saw her playing it all the time as it is, at the most important moment. When you are a senior and you are there as long as she did, that’s what you are here to do. This is why you came here.”
The Huskies, the second seeded (34-3), winners of 13 consecutive, will face the winner of the Saturday match between southern California and the state of Kanas during a regional final on Monday.
Ashlynn Shade added 12 points and Sarah Strong had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Uconn, who seeks to extend her record by winning a 12th national title. The Huskies have reached their 18th Elite Eight in the past 19 seasons, but the Auriemma team has not won everything since 2016.
“Honestly, we just wanted to keep our season as long as possible,” said Bueckers. “We all like to play together. We like to play here. We love this program. “
Payton Verhulst scored 16 points for Oklahoma, the third seeded (27-8), which has reached Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013. The Sooners have never beat the Huskies in a series that includes the 2002 national match.
“I just said to our elders, obviously, this loss is zero, it should hurt, there will be tears and sorrow, but I think that the biggest message I wanted to hear is that they started this culture in Oklahoma,” said Verhulst.
The Sooners took an advance of 8-0. The first points of the Huskies occurred on the point at 3 points in drums just over three minutes after the match, which addressed a race of 11-0 UCONN. The Huskies led 17-12 after the first quarter.
Verhulst struck a 3-point pointer to put the Sooners back at the top, 24-23. She added a rider and 3 others to extend the advance to 29-23. Verhulst collected 13 points in the second quarter.
The 3 of Reyna Scott sent the Sooners on a break with a four -point lead.
BUECKERS – which led Uconn in the Final Four last year, where he lost against the possible champion of Southern Carolina – was released after the break and clearly indicated that his collegial career would continue, marking eight points at the beginning of the third quarter to advance the Huskies.
Its rapid lay-up extended the advance to 48-40 and the Huskies checked the match from there, leading to 59-46 before the last quarter.
She added a deep 3 which gave Uconn an advance of 62-46 and put the game out of reach for Oklahoma – but she still continued to score, sending a message to any opponent who could seek to stop the pursuit of the Huskies of a championship.
“Everyone at this stage is trying to continue to win, win a national title and continue the season as long as possible,” said Bueckers. “Everyone has the same goal. Whether your season ends or your career ends, you want to stay in a match at a time, one practice at a time, one possession at a time, and simply focus on this and maximize this, and not be too caught in the future.”
The Best of Bueckers
Bueckers exceeded Tina Charles for fourth place on the Uconn career score list.
The minnesota game guard with the French signature braids arrived in Uconn in 2020 and was the consensual national player of the year as a recruit. But his following two seasons were derailed by injuries. She resulted in the entire 2022-23 campaign with a torn LCA.
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