STORRS — The No. 2 seed UConn women’s basketball is headed back to the Sweet 16 for the 31st consecutive season after dismantling No. 10 seed South Dakota State 91-57 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Gampel Pavilion on Monday.
The Huskies advance to regional rounds in Spokane, Washington, where they will face No. 3 seed Oklahoma on Saturday (5:30 p.m., ESPN) in the Sweet 16 with a berth to the region final on the line. The Sooners moved on with a 96-62 win Monday over 6-seed Iowa.
Superstar Paige Bueckers had her best offensive performance of the season the final home game of her college career, tying her March Madness career high with 32 points shooting 65% from the field and 3-for-5 on 3-pointers. She added a team-high four steals, three assists and three rebounds playing just 27 minutes in UConn’s blowout victory.
“Paige was Paige, and it’s a great way to finish your career at home. There’s no better way than with a game like that, a performance like that,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “Today I think she was just thinking about winning, and she was even more efficient than she normally is. So yes, (I’ve been) waiting five years for this moment, and hopefully there’s a bunch more coming up.”
Freshman Sarah Strong ended her four-game streak of double-doubles against the Jackrabbits, but the forward still did a little bit of everything for the Huskies finishing with 15 points plus seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. Star guard Azzi Fudd also played 27 minutes after getting into early foul trouble, but she joined Bueckers and Strong in double digits with 17 points shooting 50% from the field.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers, left, is fouled by South Dakota State guard Madison Mathiowetz (3) during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
UConn’s first quarter against South Dakota State couldn’t have been more different from the dominant one it put together in its first-round win Saturday. The Huskies started 0-for-7 from the field and trailed by as many as six points in the first five minutes of the game. Even after Strong finally made a layup to put UConn on the board, the team struggled to find any offensive momentum before the first media timeout going more than three and a half minutes without a field goal.
“I think we just wanted it so bad, like when we stepped on the court it’s this one game before you can move on to the next region,” sophomore Ashlynn Shade said. “When you want something really bad, you kind of overdo it to the point where it’s not helping you, so I think we just had to settle in a little bit and just really lock down on defense to get us going. And then it helped when Paige started knocking down those shots, because we got more comfortable and got into our flow.”
Once Bueckers got going, she became unstoppable. After missing her first two shots, the redshirt senior hit five in a row to end the first on a solo 10-0 run that put UConn in front by five despite trailing almost the entire quarter. She capped her dominant stretch with a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to end the first, pounding on her chest wearing a stone-cold expression as she rejoined the team huddle between quarters.
Bueckers scored all 12 of her first-quarter points in the final three minutes, and she was 4-for-6 from the field entering the second with the rest of the Huskies shooting a combined 2-for-9.
“You almost felt sorry for the other team because you know when Paige is locked in, there’s nothing you can do to stop her,” Fudd said. “It doesn’t matter what shot she takes, the ball’s going to go in. I was on the bench getting to watch most of it, so that was really fun to just get to watch and see what she does, and she makes it look so easy. We have all the trust in the world in her, so (I) just got to sit back and enjoy the Paige show.
The energy from Bueckers was contagious in the second quarter as the rest of the team started to settle in. Strong joined the redshirt senior in double-digits with 11 first-half points, and Bueckers hit eight consecutive shots to enter halftime with 21. But perhaps her most animated celebration of the first half came after Shade scored her first points of the game on 3-pointer, forcing South Dakota State to take its second timeout as UConn opened up a 16-2 run.
South Dakota State forward Mesa Byom, right, reaches for the ball against UConn guard Ashlynn Shade during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
The Huskies also turned up their defensive pressure with four different players combining for eight steals before halftime. The team forced 14 turnovers in the half while giving up just two, and they scored 25 of their 43 points off of South Dakota State’s lost possessions.
“Defense is something that we’ve been really emphasizing all season and that we pride ourselves in,” Fudd said. “I think all of us, you’ve got KK (Arnold) just all around being disruptive. You’ve got Sarah’s blocks and Paige is sneaky too, getting steals and stuff. I feel like just as a whole our defense has really come together this last little bit, and if we continue to play defense the way that we’re capable of, it’s going to make it hard for any team to run their normal offense.”
South Dakota State ended the half on six unanswered points to cut UConn’s lead to 15, but the Huskies quickly put the game out of reach in the third quarter. Bueckers stayed hot with nine points in the first six minutes of the second half to lead UConn on a 23-3 run, and the Jackrabbits had given up a season-high 22 turnovers by the end of the third quarter. They were held to a game-low eight points and just three field goals in the third.
UConn cruised through the fourth quarter as Fudd got hot from 3-point range, scoring 11 of her 17 points shooting 3-for-4 beyond the arc in the second half. After checking out of the game with a minute left in the third quarter, Bueckers returned to the floor midway through the fourth alongside Fudd, graduate transfer Kaitlyn Chen and sixth-year Aubrey Griffin. Fudd has another year of eligibility she could opt to use, but all four walked on UConn’s senior night, so coach Geno Auriemma gave them the opportunity to take the court together in their final home game as a group at Gampel Pavilion. They checked out to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd with three minutes left in the win.
“The atmosphere was amazing. You can’t hear time-outs, can’t even hear fouls … just because of how loud (the fans) are and how much support they show,” Bueckers said. “It’s been a dream to play here, a dream to wear this uniform, a dream to play in this environment. As many more times you want this to continue to happen, you just take every single chance you have and never take it for granted.”
Originally Published: March 24, 2025 at 10:09 PM EDT
