March 25 (UPI) -- Longtime UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma had tears in his eyes as he heaped praise on Paige Bueckers after his star guard poured in 34 points in an NCAA tournament win over South Dakota State.
Bueckers made 14 of 21 shots to tie her career-high point total in the 91-57 second-round blowout Monday in Storrs, Conn. The second-seeded Huskies outshot the No. 10 Jackrabbits 57.6% to 41.2%. The game served as Bueckers' last on the UConn campus.
"It's been a dream to play here," Bueckers said. "A dream to where this uniform, a dream to wear this uniform. ... You just take every chance you have and never take it for granted."
The three-time All-American and former National Player of the Year is the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Bueckers averaged a team-high 19.2 points and conference-best 4.8 assists per game through her first 34 starts this season. Her 3.81 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the nation.
"Everything that you all have said about her, that everybody's written about her, it's all true," Auriemma said. "Every part of it. I wouldn't be able to sit here and add anything to that. Her game and what she does speaks for itself and it's a testament to her, to her work, to her love of basketball, love of being in the gym.
"She's being rewarded and that in itself is just fulfilling. It is for me, and I hope it is for her."
Bueckers, the top high school recruit in the class of 2020, was an immediate star for the Huskies. She averaged 20 points and 5.8 assists per game, while shooting 46.4% from 3-point range over 29 starts as a freshman in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Huskies went 28-2 that season en route to a Final Four appearance, earning multiple National Player of the Year Awards.
Adversity struck during her second season. Bueckers underwent off-season surgery on her right ankle. She later sustained a knee injury and was limited to 17 games as a sophomore. Bueckers eventually returned later that season and helped the Huskies reach the national title game, losing to South Carolina.
Injuries again impacted Bueckers in 2022, when she sustained a torn ACL and missed the season. She was cleared to return for the 2023 season, and averaged a career-high 21.9 points per game over 39 starts, helping the Huskies reach another Final Four.
Bueckers' teammates appeared to be in awe of the decorated guard as she dominated the Jackrabbits in their second-round victory. She was scoreless through the first seven minutes of the first quarter, but netted a dozen of the Huskies' final 13 points in the frame. She scored 11 more points in the third quarter.
"It's incredible to watch, but you almost feel sorry for the other team because you know when Paige is locked in, there's nothing you can do to stop her," Huskies senior guard Azzi Fudd said.
"It doesn't matter what shots she takes. The ball is going to go in. ... We have all the trust in the world in her so just got to sit back and enjoy the Paige show."
Bueckers and the Huskies will take on No. 3 Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 at 5:30 p.m. EDT Saturday in Spokane. The game will air on ESPN.
The winner of the Huskies-Sooners matchup will face No. 1 USC or No. 5 Kansas State in the Elite Eight.
