Paige Bueckers Stats Tonight: How did UConn star fare vs Villanova? (March 9)

Paige Bueckers showed what she's capable of doing in the next stage of her career, scoring 23 points to lead No. 3 UConn to an 82-54 victory over Villanova in the Big East Tournament semifinals on Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The 6-foot guard made 10-of-17 shots from the field, including 2-of-4 from the 3-point line. She also finished with one rebound, six assists and one block in 33 minutes for the Huskies, who moved on to the tournament final.

Paige Bueckers, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, put on a show in front of a huge crowd, including Dallas Wings front office staff members. She dropped 21 points in the first half to carry the tournament top seed Huskies to a 47-37 lead.

Although she didn't score in the third quarter, the senior guard played the role of a facilitator, helping her teammates find good looks to score, while her assists to Sarah Strong and Kaitlyn Chen gave UConn a 59-37 advantage. Bueckers recorded another assist in the fourth quarter before scoring her 23rd point on a jumper for UConn's 70-45 lead.

Paige Bueckers sat out with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter when UConn was up by 28, giving way to her teammates when the game was already decided. Here are her final stats in UConn's win against Villanova:

Player	MP	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG	3-PT	FT	TO	PF
Paige Bueckers	33	23	1	6	0	1	10-17	2-4	1-1	0	2

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Huskies vs Wildcats Game Recap: Paige Bueckers' UConn clobbers Villanova to make Big East Tournament final

UConn's shutdown defense held Villanova to zero field goals in 16 minutes of the second half to move a step closer to its fifth consecutive Big East title.

The Huskies didn't allow Villanova to score until the 4:41 mark of the third after Denae Carter made two free throws that cut the deficit to 59-39. Ryanne Allen, Carter and Maddie Webber made six more free throws during that field goal-less span before Allen buried a jumper with 4:48 left to end the drought.

UConn held Villanova to 31.1% from the field while making 51.7% of their attempts. The Wildcats missed 24 of 30 attempts from the 3-point line as they tried to shatter the Huskies' zone defense through perimeter shooting.

UConn won most of the stat departments, ruling over rebounds (40-32), assists (18-7) and steals (7-5). They ruled fast break points (12-3) and points in the paint (38-20) for a total domination of the game.

Freshman Sarah Strong added 20 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks, while Azzi Fudd contributed 14 points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals for the Geno Auriemma-coached squad.

Maddie Webber led Villanova with 15 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Denae Carter added 10 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.

The Huskies moved on to the Big East Tournament final, where they will take on second seed Creighton (26-5), which beat No. 3 seed Seton Hall 73-44 in the semifinals.

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