Paige Bueckers leads UConn women past Providence in Big East

UNCASVILLE — Paige Bueckers advocated for teammate Aaliyah Edwards to win the Big East Player of the Year award, but the UConn women’s basketball star proved herself more than deserving of the honor with a 29-point performance against Providence in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.

Bueckers led top-seeded UConn to an 86-53 win over the No. 9 Friars at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament, and the Huskies will advance to face the winner of Saturday’s game between No. 4 Villanova and No. 5 Marquette in the semifinals Sunday.

By the end of the first quarter against Providence, Bueckers already had 11 points. She finished shooting 10-for-23 from the field and 5-for-10 from 3-point range, her best outside percentage . She came one point short of her fifth 30-point game of the season and third in the last two weeks. The Huskies guard was just as impactful down the stat sheet, also logging team-highs with six assists, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

Providence led by as many as four points in the opening quarter, helped by four Huskies turnovers in the first five minutes, but UConn responded with a 23-6 run that put it up by 13 after the first quarter. Turnovers again allowed the Friars to stay in the game as the Huskies gave up 12 before halftime though also creating 11 of their own. They ultimately outscored Providence with 21 points off of turnovers to the Friars’ 12.

The second quarter was an offensive disaster for both teams with nearly five scoreless minutes between them before Providence guard Grace Efosa finished a layup right before the halftime buzzer. The Huskies went from shooting above 70% across the board in the first quarter to 54% from the field and 50% from 3-point range in the second, and they were outscored 15-12 by the Friars heading into halftime.

Edwards battled intense physicality from Providence’s post players all afternoon, and it showed in her eight trips to the free throw line. The senior eventually exited the floor bleeding in the third quarter after taking an elbow to the face while chasing after a rebound and did not return due to a nose injury. She recorded 12 points and six rebounds in just 24 minutes on the court.

Bueckers’ offensive production didn’t cool off, even without Edwards to run the two-man game that has fueled the Huskies as of late. She scored 11 points in the third quarter, and freshman KK Arnold also stepped up as a shooting threat to finish with 17 points on 50% shooting from 3-point range. Ashlynn Shade added 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting, and Nika Muhl drained her first 3-pointer of the game in the fourth quarter

Redshirt freshman Ice Brady saw extended playing time in place of Edwards, appearing for more than 27 minutes for the first time in her career. It took her a quarter to settle in, but the 6-3 forward finished 3-for-4 from the field with eight points, three rebounds, a block and a steal. She also avoided fouling out despite picking up her fourth with more than five minutes left in the game.