Geno Auriemma says "Paige Bueckers show" not enough to win an NCAA championship, lauds Sarah Strong, UConn for stepping up 

Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies extended their winning streak to eight games on Wednesday night, trouncing the Villanova Wildcats 100-57 at Gampel Pavilion. Bueckers scored 21 points for the Huskies, who improved their overall record to 18-2.

She nearly recorded a triple-double in just three quarters as she also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out nine assists in the first 30 minutes of play. She shot 8-for-11 from the field and 2-for-3 from the free throw line before sitting out the entire fourth quarter. Bueckers was lights out from beyond the arc, knocking down all three of her 3-point attempts.

The Huskies have been on fire lately, winning their last two games by an average of 51.5 points. In the postgame press conference, a reporter asked UConn coach Geno Auriemma if the Huskies are right on schedule regarding their development at this stage of the season.

"I didn’t really have a particular vision of where it would be," Auriemma said. "I was hopeful that someone would rise up and it wouldn’t be the Paige Bueckers show. It can’t be that to win the championship."

(from 23:38 mark onwards)

Auriemma then praised Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd for rising up and helping Paige Bueckers carry the scoring load for UConn.

"Right from the very first game, Sarah did. So now right away, you’ve got two," Auriemma said. And then the last game, it was Azzi. Today was more of a combination of things. As long as we have people contributing, I think we’re where we need to be."

"We’re getting contributions from a lot of people and I wasn’t sure who that was going to be. I knew who I wanted it to be but I wasn’t sure who it was going to be, so little by little, we’re starting to get that," he added.

Paige Bueckers gets help from Sarah Strong and Kaitlyn Chen in Villanova rout

It wasn't just Paige Bueckers who punished the Villanova defense as three other players scored in double figures for the sixth-ranked UConn Huskies. Sarah Strong continued her dominance, scoring a game-high 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting. She stuffed the stat sheet against the Wildcats, recording five assists, four rebounds, two steals and one block in 25 minutes of action.

Sarah Strong (#21) of the UConn Huskies shoots against Maddie Burke (#23) of the Villanova Wildcats during their game at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on January 22, 2025. Photo: Getty

Kaitlyn Chen had her best game of the season for the Huskies, scoring 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting. KK Arnold provided further firepower off the bench, dropping 11 points. She shot 4-of-5 from the field and made all three of her attempts at the charity stripe.