Paige Bueckers Stats Tonight: How did UConn star perform vs UCLA in Women's March Madness Final Four (Apr. 4)
UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers was once again a driving force in her team's all-important victory earlier on Friday. Her steady production propelled her national-title hungry squad to a 34-point blowout of the No. 1-seeded UCLA Bruins, 85-51, for their NCAA Final Four matchup as they are now a win away from their ultimate goal.
In 31 minutes of playing time, Bueckers posted 16 points on 7-of-17 overall shooting, five rebounds, two assists and three steals as the Geno Auriemma-coached team now advanced to this year's national championship.
Although the graduating star started the hotly contested fixture off shakily, Bueckers found the bottom of the net with her jumper at the 4:02 mark of the first period for her first score. She was efficient in defense throughout the quarter for her team as she got a couple of rebounds and a steal. Eventually, another Bueckers jumper capped off the Huskies' strong start, 23-13, at the end of one.
Bueckers tried to be more aggressive to open the second quarter, but it was to no avail as UConn continued on with their blistering run. After some time on the bench from playing pesky defense, the senior finally scored at the 1:56 mark to balloon her squad's lead to 15 points, 37-22. With an assist and more defense to cap off the first half, the Huskies led by a dominant 20, 42-22, after the first half.
To open the third period, Bueckers looked like she found her footing as after a steal, she immediately converted another basket at the 9:02 mark. Throughout the third frame then, the Hopkins, Minnesota native was everywhere on the floor with her scoring, playmaking and defense as the Bruins tried their best to keep up. Still, UConn was with a sizeable edge, 60-37, heading into the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, Paige Bueckers kept pushing the pace with a jumper to open the period. The spitfire scorer then stayed reserved throughout the frame as it seemed as though the finals berth was already going into the Huskies' way. With this, Bueckers opted to sit out for the remainder of the game as UConn booked their national title game with a score of 85-51.
Take a look at Paige Bueckers' final stats for Friday.
Paige Bueckers is one win away from her first and likely only national championship
Despite being hailed as one of the greatest women's college basketball players of all time, Paige Bueckers is yet to win the national championship. The closest she's ever got is when the Huskies lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks, 64-49, in the 2021-2022 campaign.
Bueckers is now looking to close out her college career strong with a national title, given that she is expected to be the top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. The UConn Huskies now set their sights towards a rematch of the 2022 finals against the Gamecocks for the 2025 national championship game on Sunday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.