Connecticut playmaker Paige Bueckers dropped 31 points with six steals on Monday night, prompting the Huskies to overtake first place in South Carolina. (David Butler / Pool Photo / AP)
Paige Bueckers took over at the perfect time for No. 2 UConn on Monday night.
After a late South Carolina rally forced to overtime in his clash at the Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, Bueckers drilled seven consecutive points – including a clutch-contested 3-point bucket – in the final seconds to give the Huskies a 63 win -59 on the best rated Gamecocks.
“She is a player,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said of Bueckers after the game. via Charlotte Carroll of The Atheltic. “She makes big shots when her number is called, over and over again.”
UConn awaits after race in South Carolina
The first half was a fierce defensive battle, with each team going to the locker room at halftime with just 24 points. The Huskies were kept at 0-6 on the 3-point line, although they forced 13 turns in South Carolina.
In fact, the only 3-point basket made by someone in the first two quarters came with the bell, thanks to a violent half-court tug from Zia Cooke.
UConn advanced slightly in the second half, taking a brief seven point lead in the middle of the fourth period. However, a rapid 11-0 explosion in South Carolina brought Gamecocks back into control.
South Carolina maintained UConn with just five points during the first eight minutes of the final period – although Bueckers’ consecutive buckets tied the game with just 49 seconds remaining.
With a final chance, the Gamecocks lost four different buckets in the final play – three of them layups right on the edge – and ended up sending the game into overtime.
Aliyah Boston led South Carolina with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Cooke and Destanni Henderson added 11. The Gamecocks also had a 22-game winning streak before Tuesday’s defeat.
Bueckers finished with 31 points and five assists, the game record, while he managed six steals in victory. She was the only UConn player to score double digits.
“I’m always surprised when she kicks and the ball doesn’t go in,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma, via Carroll. “There is not much you can say. She is that player. She is that player who appears and people talk about her.”
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