Paige Bueckers said key target was to "throw the first punch" at Dawn Staley's South Carolina 

The UConn Huskies, led by veteran Paige Bueckers, produced their biggest win of the 2024-2025 season on Sunday, Feb. 16. The now No. 5-ranked Huskies demolished the defending national champions South Carolina Gamecocks in front of a hostile away crowd, winning 87-58.

In the postgame interview with Holly Rowe, Bueckers shared that heading into the non-conference fixture, the key target for the Huskies was to get the upper hand right from the get-go against the then No. 2-ranked opponent.

"It's been an emphasis in practice," she said. "We feel like a lot of these big games, we played on our heels and we wanted to play on our feet today, throw the first punch.

"We knew it was going to be a rough environment, great environment for women's basketball to play in. So, just come out here, have fun and play with a toughness."

Bueckers also shared how the Huskies' mindset was after halftime when they expected the Dawn Staley-coached team to have a surge.

"We know they're going to come out strong. They're a great team, well-coached team," Bueckers said. "So, I know coach Dawn will have a great speech for them at halftime to get them motivated.

"But, we just got to stick to our game plan, stick to what we did in the first half. Don't shy away from it, embrace it and continue to do that."

Fortunately for the Geno Auriemma and the Huskies, they held on to their commanding lead for the rest of the matchup, halting any chance of a comeback for South Carolina.

Now with a 24-3 overall record, Paige Bueckers and Co. move back to playing against Big East conference team with the on-road tipoff against the Seton Hall Pirates on Wednesday.

Paige Bueckers lauds the performances of freshman stalwarts Sarah Strong and Jana El Alfy

During the interview, Paige Bueckers commended rookie Sarah Strong and red-shirt freshman Jana El Alfy, for stepping up their games.

"It's what they prepared to do," Bueckers said. "They worked extremely hard for it in practice. It hasn't come yet, but we know if we keep working, it's coming, it's coming, it's coming.

"They're playing tremendous, they've been tremendous this whole year. Sarah's almost got a double-double in the first half so, the bigs are doing great for us."

Paige Bueckers finished the outing with an all-around stat line of 12 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists and a steal. Strong supplemented the team with 16 markers, 13 caroms, four assists, two swipes and a block of her own, while El Alfy pitched in eight points, six boards, a dime and a steal.