Paige Bueckers stats today: How did UConn star perform vs Arkansas State (March 22)
huskies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers kicked off her last March Madness tournament with a decent performance in the team's dominant 103 - 34 first-round win over No. 15 Arkansas State Red Wolves on Saturday, March 22. The Huskies entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Spokane 4 Region and they showed their superiority right from tipoff today, showing up with a 50-point lead by halftime.
Bueckers entered March Madness in fine form, leading UConn to a 12th consecutive conference title, while becoming the first-ever player to win the Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player three times.
She dropped 11 points in the win over Arkansas, along with 4 assists, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
The 23-year-old scored just four points in the first quarter, finding her first basket with a two-pointer with 3:15 left to play, before closing off the quarter with another two-pointer.
However, she opened the basket for UConn in the second quarter with another two-pointer, but could only score another two points before the end of the first half.
The guard finally found her first three-pointer in the third quarter, but that was going to be her last basket in 22 minutes of action. Bueckers finished 4-of-6 in the two-point range, and 1-of-3 from the three-point range.
While the guard had a relatively quiet game, three Huskies players exploded with 20-point games.
Azzi Fudd was the game’s top scorer with 27 points, while freshman forward Sarah Strong secured a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Ashlynn Shade also came off the bench to score 20 points.
Here is Paige Bueckers’ stats for Saturday’s win
Paige Bueckers and Co. march on after historic win
The Huskies last won by such a large margin in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament when they defeated Saint Francis by 88 points, making this 69-point victory over Arkansas their biggest since then.
UConn will play next against the winner of the first-round game between No. 7 seed Oklahoma State and No. 10 seed South Dakota State. The game will take place at Gampel Pavilion on Monday night.