Paige Bueckers led UConn women's basketball to a convincing 82-59 Sweet 16 tournament win against Oklahoma on Saturday. The UConn star scored 40 points to go along with six rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist. It was a dominant performance for Bueckers, who became the first player in UConn women's basketball history to record 40 points in an NCAA Tournament game. After the contest, however, the guard remained humble.
"Really, it's not about me," Bueckers said, via espnW.
Bueckers then gave credit to her teammates, shouting out their defense against Oklahoma.
"A huge shout out to them, because we wouldn't have won this game without them," Bueckers later added.
It was a team effort, as UConn was able to limit Oklahoma to 59 points. Bueckers unquestionably led the way, though. She was aggressive to say the least, taking 27 total shots. Bueckers was able to connect on 16 of those attempts, good for a 59.3 field goal percentage.
The UConn star also made six of her eight three-point attempts. She was efficient while remaining aggressive, which is certainly a recipe for success. Surprisingly, Bueckers only took three total free throw attempts, connecting on two of the attempts. She did most of her damage while shooting the basketball from the field.
UConn women's basketball looks dangerous as NCAA Tournament moves forward
No. 2 UConn against No. 3 Oklahoma was expected to be a competitive affair in the Sweet 16 portion of the NCAA Tournament. Yet, the Huskies cruised to the win. Will UConn play a competitive game soon? One would think so, but this UConn team looks quite dangerous at the moment.
The element of it that stands out is that before Saturday, Bueckers had not truly found her groove in the tournament. That obviously changed on Saturday, so the Huskies will be especially challenging to defeat moving forward.
Winning a championship is never a simple task. Nothing will come easy for this UConn women's basketball team as the tournament continues. With that said, they are trending in the right direction. If Paige Bueckers can continue to perform at an elite level, UConn should be able to make an extremely deep run.
Now, the Huskies will gear up for the upcoming Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. Anything can happen, but Bueckers surely has extra motivation given the fact that this is her final season of college basketball.