"Everybody catches it, it starts to feed on itself": Geno Auriemma appreciates Paige Bueckers' "infectious" style of play

UConn coach Geno Auriemma was impressed with his senior guard Paige Bueckers' command of Wednesday night's game against Villanova. Bueckers stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in the Huskies' 100-57 win against the Wildcats at Gampel Pavilion.

During the postgame media conference, Auriemma was asked about Bueckers' offensive dominance on the win.

"There's a way that Paige manages a game that it feels like she has complete control of the game and that she can do whatever she wants,” the coach said (3:24).

"When she's in the game and everybody is looking at her and everybody's waiting to see what she's going to do, then for her to go off like she did today, it's infectious.

"Everybody catches it, and it starts to feed on itself, and she has that. She has that effect. So, I'm really excited about where she is right now."

Paige Bueckers was injured in Geno Auriemma's Huskies' previous encounter with Villanova at Finneran Pavilion on Jan. 5. She collided with a defender and suffered a left knee sprain that kept her out of UConn's following two games.

The 6-foot guard returned to play at St. John's last week and then became the fastest Husky to reach 2,000 career points against Seton Hall on Sunday.

Geno Auriemma hails Kaitlyn Chen as she delivers best performance in UConn uniform

Kaitlyn Chen, a senior transfer from Princeton, impressed in the win over Villanova and Geno Auriemma had high praise for her play.

In the media session, he discussed how Chen had found her confidence and was starting to play more freely.

"There's no question in my mind what she's capable of doing" Auriemma said (0:30). "Tonight was an example of it. It's not easy coming in and trying to fit with a group like this.

"I think she had — thinking somewhere along the line — I think she had a little too much respect for her guys ... I think she's worked through all that, I hope, and seeing the ball go in today — that was just great."

Kaitlyn Chen had 17 points — her season high and only fourth time reaching double figures as a Husky.

"We want her to be aggressive. We want her to look to score. It'll open up everything else, and it'll make teams guard her and guard everybody on the floor," Bueckers said of Chen postgame.

Apart from Bueckers and Chen, freshman forward Sarah Strong also had a strong game leading UConn in scoring with a game-high 22 points while also adding five assists and four rebounds.

Geno Auriemma and No. 6 Huskies (18-2, 9-0 Big East) will face Creighton next on Saturday.