Spokane, Washington.-Paige Bueckers scored 40 points in his career, rescuing Uconn from his crisis in the first half and with the Saturday of the people of the NCAA house.
Bueckers had 29 points after part time for the Huskies, who lost 36-32 at rest. The probable general selection No. 1 in the WNBA Draft eclipsed its best 34 -point previous race, established on Monday in the victory of the second round of Uconn over the state of South Dakota, its last game at home in Gampel Pavilion.
The Electrizer Guardia Senior coincided with his career with six triples, the last two during a 10-0 personal race in the last quarter. Bueckers left the game with 3:06 remaining and UConn ahead 80-51.
“Obviously, Paige was spectacular,” said Uconn coach Geno Auriemma. “That was a game as good as I have seen it play all the time I was here, at the most important moment. When you are a last year student and you have been all the time you have done, this is what you are here to do. That’s why you came here.”
The second sown huskies (34-3), winners of 13 consecutive, will face the winner of Saturday’s late game between southern California and the state of Kanas in a regional final on Monday.
Ashlynn Shade added 12 points and Sarah Strong had 11 points and 11 rebounds for UConn, which seeks to extend her record by winning a 12th national title. The Huskies reached its 18th Eight Ell in the last 19 seasons, but the Auriemma team has not won everything since 2016.
“Honestly, we just wanted to keep our season as long as possible,” Bueckers said. “We all love playing together. We love playing here. We love this program.”
Payton Verhulst scored 16 points for Oklahoma de Tercez (27-8), which reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013. The Sooners have never defeated the Huskies in a series that includes the game for the national title of 2002.
“I just told our elders: obviously, this loss is stinking, it should hurt, there will be tears and heartbreak, but I think the most important message he wanted to listen was that they began this culture in Oklahoma,” Verhulst said.
The Sooners jumped to an 8-0 advantage. The first points of the Huskies occurred in Triple de Bueckers just over three minutes in the game, which shot a 11-0 UConn race. The Huskies led 17-12 after the first quarter.
Verhulst connected a deep triple to put the sooners on the top, 24-23. He added a jumper and another 3 to extend the advantage to 29-23. Verhulst had 13 points in the second quarter.
Reyna Scott’s 3 sent the Sooners to rest with a four -point advantage.
Bueckers, who took Uconn to the Final Four last year, where he lost to the eventual champion of South Carolina, left after the break and made it clear that his university career would continue, scoring eight points at the beginning of the third quarter to put the Huskies forward.
Its rapid rupture tray extended the advantage to 48-40 and the Huskies controlled the game from there, leading 59-46 in the last quarter.
He added a deep 3 that gave UConn an advantage of 62-46 and put the game out of the reach of Oklahoma, but continued to score anyway, sending a message to any opponent that could try to stop the search for a championship of the Huskies.
“Everyone at this time of the season is trying to continue winning, to win a national title and maintain the season as long as possible,” said Bueckers. “Everyone has the same goal. Whether your season is finishing or your career is finishing, you want to stay in one game at a time, one practice at the same time, one possession at the same time, and just concentrate on that and maximize that, and not get too trapped in the future.”
The best of Bueckers
Bueckers surpassed Tina Charles for fourth place in the UConn professional score list.
The Minnesota Game Guard with French braid signatures arrived in UConn in 2020 and was the national player of the year of consensus as a first -year student. But his next two seasons were derailed by injuries. She sat the entire 2022-23 campaign with a torn acl.
