When Paige Bueckers went through the Senior Night ceremonies last season, she felt a whirlwind of emotions. It started with tears streaming down Bueckers’ face as she walked out with her parents and siblings. Minutes later, the Minnesota native gleefully announced she would return for one more year and sent the Gampel Pavilion crowd into a frenzy.
380 days have passed since then. In that time, Bueckers went on a “world tour,” crossed the 2,000-point mark and climbed to sixth on the program’s all-time scoring list. The “work tour” she put in could yield a third WBCA Coaches’ All-American selection and Big East Player of the Year award.
Sunday afternoon’s Senior Day festivities concluded with one special recognition—the 2021 National Player of the Year’s induction into the Huskies of Honor.
“It still, to me, feels like a dream,” Bueckers said postgame about her senior day. “To share that [experience] with my teammates and my coaching staff, it meant a lot.”
It was only fitting that the two-time WBCA Coaches’ All-American led all players in scoring the day she joined that exclusive club. Bueckers scored 19 points and recorded seven assists as the No. 5 UConn Women’s Basketball team clipped the Marquette Golden Eagles 92-57.
“You want to show your best version of yourself,” head coach Geno Auriemma commented on the Huskies’ fastest player to 2,000 career points’ afternoon. “You always want it to be special, and I think today certainly was for her.”
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Auriemma did not fully enjoy Connecticut’s defensive performance. It says quite a bit given that the Huskies forced 24 turnovers, 10 in the opening five minutes, and scored 27 points off them. But beyond the defense, which helped halt the Golden Eagles’ five-game winning streak, UConn dominated the paint with a 54-18 scoring edge.
Redshirt senior Aubrey Griffin played a pivotal part in that department. Sunday afternoon marked the second Senior Day for Griffin, who also announced her return during her first. Back in the starting lineup after 455 days, UConn’s longest-tenured player delivered another aggressive performance with 11 points and four offensive rebounds.
“She was instrumental in creating a tone for how the game was going to be played,” the 40th-year head coach expressed about Griffin. “It does not always turn into easy buckets, but it does start the process of the other team feeling like they are constantly under pressure.”
“One more year” chants rained down during Azzi Fudd’s portion of Senior Day. Although she did not speak following the festivities, Fudd let her on-court performance do the talking. The Virginia native had 12 points, three steals and two offensive rebounds. Graduate guard Kaitlyn Chen only took two shot attempts. While it ended her streak of double-digit outings at four, the Princeton transfer still had two points, one rebound and one assist.
Nine-time Big East Freshman of the Week Sarah Strong, the only former No. 1 recruit not recognized postgame, played like a senior. Strong mixed her prolific offense (17 points, 8-12 shooting) with a relentless defense that yielded five rebounds, two blocks and three steals. Redshirt sophomore Ice Brady returned four weeks after her last appearance and had seven points with three boards.
Skylar Forbes and Lee Volker, Marquette’s two leading scorers, each grabbed three rebounds and made two three-pointers. Volker focused on efficiency with 10 points at a 4-7 clip. Forbes, meanwhile, complemented her 12 points with intense defense; she had two blocks and a steal.
But it was junior guard Jaidynn Mason that led the offense. The SIU Carbondale transfer entered Storrs having crossed double figures in three out of her past four games. Mason bounced back from a five-point outing with 13 points, all after the first quarter, and three steals.
The Golden Eagles grabbed a quick 6-2 lead on back-to-back three-pointers; the Huskies’ three No. 1 recruits erased that advantage. Fudd’s scoop-and-score, the go-ahead basket, began a streak where eight of Connecticut’s next 10 points came off a Marquette turnover.
The Huskies, specifically Griffin and the Virginia native, scored 14 points off 12 Golden Eagle giveaways in the opening frame. Combined with 11 points and three dimes from Bueckers, UConn looked like they would run over Marquette after just 10 minutes.
But the Golden Eagles stuck around. Marquette’s three-point offense and Mason’s post play kept them within striking distance; the Huskies’ forwards and the Minnesota native answered each bucket.
KK Arnold sparked the first series of consecutive baskets between both programs in the second quarter just 20 seconds after Volker’s layup. Connecticut went on to end the first half on a 12-5 run; the first nine of those points went unanswered. Even with five straight Golden Eagle points, Brady’s three-pointer from the top of the key capped off the first half.
Marquette, trailing 54-34 at halftime, cut the deficit to 16 on back-to-back layups in the second half’s first minute. The Huskies responded with a 16-0 run that doubled their advantage and quelled any hopes for the Golden Eagles to complete a comeback. Kennedi Perkins ended that spurt nearly six minutes after it started with a jumper. Despite a 4-0 Marquette run, Arnold capped off the 20-point third quarter with a sensational last-second behind-the-back layup.
Connecticut’s four recognized seniors played a combined six minutes in the final frame and grabbed two offensive rebounds. Five underclassmen scored in that period as the Huskies completed their 19th undefeated season in league play.
UConn finishes the regular season 28-3 and 18-0 against the Big East. The No. 1 seed for the fifth straight year, the Huskies begin their run for a 21st Big East Tournament title Saturday afternoon. Tip-off from Mohegan Sun Arena on March 8 is at 12 p.m. on FS1.
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