UConn W Basketball

Despite being the most consistently dominant women's basketball team in the country every year, the Connecticut Huskies are mired in a six-year championship drought dating back to the 2015-16 season.

Head coach Geno Auriemma is confident his squad is going to end its currently dry spell soon.

"We're going to win another one," Auriemma told reporters on Friday. "It's just a matter of when. I don't know when that is, but we're going win another one. Sooner rather than later would be good for me."

UConn's quest to win a title during the 2022-23 season will be more difficult than initially expected due to the absence of Paige Bueckers.

The superstar point guard tore her ACL in a pickup game on Aug. 1 and will miss the entire season. She led the team in scoring average (14.6 points per game), assists (3.9) and tied for first in steals (1.5) last season.

Auriemma and his staff did a fantastic job in recruiting to replenish the talent pool. The Huskies landed two of the top five prospects in espnW's 2022 class. They will also have Nika Mühl, Aaliyah Edwards and Azzi Fudd back.

Despite their title drought, it's not like times have been tough in Storrs, Connecticut recently. The Huskies were in the national title game last season, losing to top-ranked South Carolina.

Connecticut has reached the Final Four in each of the past five seasons the NCAA tournament was held. This comes after the program won four consecutive national titles from 2012-16.

The Gamecocks will likely enter this season as favorites to repeat as champions. Aliyah Boston, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, is back for her senior season.

UConn will never be thought of as an underdog because of the standard that has been set. Auriemma has led the Huskies to 11 national championships in his career. They still boast one of the best rosters in the country.

Connecticut will open the 2022-23 season on Nov. 10 against Northeastern. It also has games against Texas, North Carolina State and Duke in the first two weeks of the regular season.

The WNBA will have to wait a little longer for the arrival of Paige Bueckers.

The UConn women's basketball star told reporters Thursday that she will return to the Huskies for the 2023-24 season and will not declare for the WNBA draft. She will be sidelined the entire 2022-23 campaign after tearing her ACL this summer.

"I’m not leaving … I will be playing college basketball again," Bueckers said.

UConn announced Aug. 3 that Bueckers tore the ACL in her left knee in a pickup basketball game. She underwent successful surgery to repair the ailment Aug. 9 and has already begun rehab.

https://twitter.com/charlottecrrll/status/1554920893708640258

It's no surprise that Bueckers intends to return to the Huskies for another season. She told Bleacher Report in a June interview that her goal for the 2022-23 campaign was to win a national championship.

"National championship, that's it," Bueckers said when asked what would make a successful 2022-23 season. "I don't think you're going to get a different answer out of me. Getting to the Final Four my freshman year and the national championship last year, the only thing left to do is win it. So that's the goal."

Winning a national title would be the icing on the cake for Bueckers, and she'll have another opportunity to do that in 2023-24. After that, she'll have her sights set on the WNBA and winning a title with whichever team drafts her.

Bueckers emerged as a college hoops star in 2020-21 as a freshman out of Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota. She averaged 20.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals in 29 games while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and 46.4 percent from deep.

The Huskies reached the Final Four when Bueckers was a freshman, and she went on to win the 2021 Wooden Award, 2021 Naismith Trophy and 2021 AP Player of the Year.

The 20-year-old was limited to just 17 games during the 2021-22 season due to a knee injury, which required surgery. She returned for the final two games of the regular season before helping the Huskies reach the NCAA tournament championship game, where they were defeated by South Carolina.

Bueckers averaged 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 54.4 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc as a sophomore.

The Huskies will look to reach the national title game again this year, but it will be much more difficult to do without Bueckers.

The 2023 WNBA draft will feature the likes of Aliyah Boston—who was named Naismith College Player of the Year, Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player last season—in addition to Haley Jones, Tamari Key, Ashley Owusu and Ayoka Lee.

UConn women's basketball star Paige Bueckers will miss the entire 2022-23 season after tearing the ACL in her left knee during a pickup basketball game on Monday, the team announced.

Bueckers will undergo surgery on Friday at UConn Health and an update on her recovery timetable will be announced after the procedure.

https://twitter.com/charlottecrrll/status/1554920893708640258

Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement:

"We're all devastated for Paige. She's worked really hard to get stronger and healthier this offseason, and this is an unfortunate setback. Paige is obviously an amazing basketball player but she's a better person and teammate and it's really unfortunate that this has happened to her. We'll miss her presence on the court, but she'll do everything she can to still lead and help her teammates this season. Our program will support Paige through her healing process to help her come back better and stronger."

It's a tough blow for Bueckers, who recently told Bleacher Report in an interview that she was gunning for a national championship in 2022-23.

"National championship, that's it," Bueckers said when asked what would make a successful 2022-23 season. "I don't think you're going to get a different answer out of me. Getting to the Final Four my freshman year and the national championship last year, the only thing left to do is win it. So that's the goal."

Bueckers burst onto the college basketball scene during the 2020-21 season as a freshman out of Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota. She averaged 20.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals in 29 games while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and 46.4 percent from deep.

She helped lead UConn to a berth in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, but the Huskies fell just short of reaching the championship game with a loss to Arizona.

Bueckers went on to earn a number of honors following her freshman season, including the 2021 Wooden Award, 2021 Naismith Trophy and 2021 AP Player of the Year.

The 20-year-old also had a solid sophomore season in 2021-22, though she was limited to just 17 games due to a knee injury suffered in a December game against Notre Dame before undergoing surgery.

Bueckers returned for the final two games of the regular season before playing all of the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament. She helped lead the Huskies to the championship game, where they were defeated by South Carolina.

Bueckers averaged 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 54.4 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc as a sophomore.

The Minnesota native was expected to have an even more impressive 2022-23 campaign, but now her junior season will be put on hold.

The Huskies will have to turn to veterans Aaliyah Edwards, Azzi Fudd, Nika Muhl and Caroline Ducharme this coming season, and now more pressure will be put on incoming freshmen Ayanna Patterson and Isuneh Brady, the No. 4 and No. 5 prospects in ESPN's 2022 class.

UConn women's basketball star Paige Bueckers has one simple message for President Joe Biden.

Bueckers ended her interview with Malika Andrews on ESPN's NBA Today calling for Biden and United States officials to do whatever it takes to bring Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February 17, home.

"Just a message to President Biden, the government and anybody with high enough power to help get Brittney Griner back home. I believe it's way far due for her to come home and she's an American. She's a hero. She's our sister in the WNBA and she's just family to the whole United States. So, just whatever it takes to get her home, I think it's definitely time," Bueckers said.

@paigebueckers1 closes out her interview with @malika_andrews with a powerful message on Brittney Griner:

"Whatever it takes to get her home ... I think it's definitely time." pic.twitter.com/jf89kBOFi9

— ESPN (@espn) July 5, 2022

Bueckers' comments come after Griner wrote a letter directly to Biden appealing for help in obtaining her freedom. Representatives of Griner shared a few excerpts from the letter, per ESPN's TJ Quinn.

"I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don't forget about me and the other American Detainees," Griner wrote. "Please do all that you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home."

Griner has been detained in Russia for 138 days as of Tuesday after being arrested at a Moscow airport for allegedly carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. Her detention was extended another six months last week, and she faces up to 10 years in Russian prison if convicted of large-scale transportation of drugs. Her trial began July 1 and will continue on Thursday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in March that U.S. officials were "doing everything" they could to protect the rights of Americans being detained in Russia.

"There's only so much I can say given the privacy considerations at this point," Blinken said of Griner. "Whenever an American is detained anywhere in the world, we of course stand ready to provide every possible assistance, and that includes in Russia."

Blinken added: "We have an embassy team that's working on the cases of other Americans who are detained in Russia. We're doing everything we can to see to it that their rights are upheld and respected."

The Biden administration classified Griner as "wrongfully detained" in May, meaning that it would not wait for her case to be play out in a Russian court and instead begin negotiating her release.

It has been speculated that a prisoner exchange would need to occur with Russia for Griner to be released. According to Gerald Posner of Forbes, the Biden administration offered to exchange convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner.

However, Blinken would not discuss such an exchange during an appearance on CNN last month.

"As a general proposition ... I have got no higher priority than making sure that Americans who are being illegally detained in one way or another around the world come home," Blinken said. "I can’t comment in any detail on what we’re doing, except to say this is an absolute priority."

Griner has played in the WNBA since 2013 after being selected first overall by the Phoenix Mercury. An eight-time All-Star and two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, she ranks third all-time in career blocks and field-goal percentage and guided the Mercury to the 2014 title.

Griner is also a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She was also named an honorary starter for the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game and has received an outpouring of support from her colleagues and many other athletes.

Paige Bueckers is in championship-or-bust mode.

"National championship, that's it," the UConn Huskies star told Bleacher Report when asked what would make a successful 2022-23 season. "I don't think you're going to get a different answer out of me. Getting to the Final Four my freshman year and the national championship last year, the only thing left to do is win it. So that's the goal."

That would be the natural progression for the third-year guard after she became the first woman to win the Wooden Award as the nation's best player as a freshman and then reached the national title game as a sophomore, only to lose to South Carolina.

She also took home the Naismith Trophy, AP Player of the Year, Big East Player of the Year and Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player during an outstanding freshman campaign that saw her average 20.0 points, 5.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from distance.

While Bueckers' second season was overshadowed by a knee injury she suffered during a December win over Notre Dame, she still returned in time for the NCAA tournament and scored in double figures in five of the Huskies' six games, including when she dropped 27 to defeat North Carolina State in the Elite Eight and clinch a second straight Final Four trip.

"Last year, we found out and learned what it takes to get there," she said. "I think now we know once we get there what to do with it. I think it will be a lot better just having that experience in getting there and making sure we get there again this season and have a different result. I'm hoping for a much healthier season this year just so we can have some continuity and consistency throughout the lineup."

That lack of continuity was a major storyline for UConn.

Bueckers missed 19 games with her knee injury that required surgery, played just 13 minutes in each of the final two regular-season games after she returned, and then averaged 15 minutes per game in the Big East tournament before resuming more of a normal workload in the Big Dance.

Fellow guard Azzi Fudd also didn't play from Nov. 22 until Jan. 26.

"I'm feeling healthy," Bueckers said. "Last summer, I had the ankle injury, and then the knee injury during the season, so I'm excited to be healthy."

A healthy Bueckers and Fudd combination will be key if UConn is going to live up to the guard's goal and win the program's 12th national championship.

So will the talented new faces within the program.

While the Huskies lost Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Evina Westbrook from last season's team, they landed Ayanna Patterson and Isuneh Brady in the 2022 recruiting class. Patterson is the No. 4 prospect in ESPN's rankings, while Brady is No. 5.

"The freshmen are really good," Bueckers said. "They're aggressive, they play hard, they play with energy. I'm excited to start playing with them more and starting to build chemistry with them."

UConn also brought in an impact transfer in Fairfield's Lou Lopez Senechal, who was the MAAC Player of the Year in 2021-22 and a three-time MAAC first-team selection.

"Lou's great. You can tell she's experienced and has been there before and done this," Bueckers said. "She fits right in really well. She's a great scorer and a great playmaker."

When she isn't building chemistry with her new teammates on the court, Bueckers is helping promote equity off it.

She partnered with Gatorade as part of its Fuel Tomorrow campaign that strives to improve access to sports while providing resources to fight inequity.

.@paigebueckers1 has one goal in mind: To be the best. Whether it’s being the best player on the court or the best role model she can be, Paige has the mindset to #FuelTomorrow by being a positive influence for her generation and the next to come. pic.twitter.com/CqXnkHT3Az

— Gatorade (@Gatorade) April 1, 2022

The UConn star also signed a multiyear deal with Gatorade in November 2021, becoming the company's first signed college player. She was previously named the Gatorade Player of the Year in high school.

"It's all still crazy to me, just the whole NIL experience," Bueckers said. "I've actually had an opportunity to build a relationship with Gatorade through high school and the player of the year program. Obviously working with them before has been amazing, but to actually team up with them and be a part of their organization and have a deal with them is surreal to me. I'm very fortunate and blessed and grateful to be a part of it and work with them."

As part of their partnership, Gatorade designed a bottle that is tailored to her game and personality. It features a bright color palette that represents the joy she brings to the court, a fist pump to illustrate how important equal opportunity is to her, a nod to her game-day braids, a reminder to pursue one's dreams and a personal phrase with a connection to her father.

"It's extremely important because it talks about my whole journey through basketball," Bueckers said of the bottle. "They did an extremely great job designing it, and we had great communication throughout the whole process. There's a lot of things unique to me and unique to my journey. There are a lot of details like the 'Be you, be great.' That's a huge thing for me. That's what my dad always texts me before games, and it's something that I live by. The bright pink and purple and blue colors just pop, and I love colorful. It's sort of a vibe for me. The 'IF' is on the court, which signifies kids dreaming about their 'what ifs' and their big goals. For me, it was 'what if I make the USA Team' or 'what if I play at my dream school at UConn' or 'what if I make the WNBA?' Those are huge goals for me. People who look at me as a role model, just for them to know they can achieve their dreams as well. There's a lot of unique designs; there's a blue and pink overlapping, which sort of signifies my game-day braids. And the fist signifies to me everybody getting an equal and fair chance, hopefully, to have these opportunities and be what they want to be and dream who they want to be and where they want to be."

The personalized bottle only adds to Bueckers' star power, and she has a UConn legend to lean on to help her navigate the opportunities and challenges that come with it.

She was one of the Huskies who visited with Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart when the Seattle Storm were in Connecticut to face the Sun on June 17. Bird, who is one of the greatest players in basketball history and a UConn legend, announced the 2022 season will be the last of her iconic career.

Huskies for life 💙@UConnWBB x #TakeCover pic.twitter.com/ZSCaTiTqWI

— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) June 18, 2022

family

💙 pic.twitter.com/qEgzmbZQJz

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) June 18, 2022

"I see an endless ceiling... She definitely has that clutch gene."

Sue Bird on Paige Bueckers

Watch her live interview with @TaylorRooks now in the B/R app https://t.co/ZRQtC6wtfJ pic.twitter.com/n340LAjZCw

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 29, 2022

Bird's 13th All-Star selection this season marked the most in WNBA history, and her resume includes four WNBA titles, five Olympic gold medals, two collegiate championships and a Naismith Player of the Year before she was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2002 WNBA draft.

The Storm guard is one of the reasons UConn is the gold standard of the sport, and she remains a resource for the current team.

"She's one of the greatest to ever play the game," Bueckers said. "Having her come through UConn, it's been amazing to build that relationship with her. She's so humble. She's so kind. She doesn't act any different because of who she is. She's still nice to us and super communicative with us. Last year after we lost was disappointing, but she actually talked to us after the loss and was super helpful in telling us that 'it's all part of the plan, it's all part of the process. And you'll look back in 10 years and think of how much you've learned from it.' She tried to help us stay positive in a moment where you can look at all the negatives. She's been super helpful with me just being able to have someone to talk to who has been there and done that and seen all the things that I have yet to see."

If everything goes according to plan, one of those things will be winning a national championship this season.

The UConn Huskies fell short in the NCAA national title game on Sunday at Target Center in Minneapolis, falling 64-49 to the South Carolina Gamecocks, and Paige Bueckers told reporters after the loss that her team is not only disappointed but also frustrated by the outcome.

"At UConn, it's national championship or nothing," Bueckers said. "Obviously upset, frustrated, disappointed. Just wish things could've gone different for our seniors."

UConn was outplayed by South Carolina from the beginning. The Gamecocks outscored the Huskies 22-8 in the first quarter and outrebounded them 12-3, including 7-0 offensively.

UConn cut into South Carolina's lead with a 19-point second quarter, but the Huskies were a step behind all night.

Bueckers, the heart and soul of the Huskies, finished with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in the loss and was the best player on the court for Geno Auriemma's squad.

While Bueckers took a step backward in terms of output, the sophomore guard still had an impressive second season with the Huskies, averaging 14.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 55.0 percent from the floor and 35.4 percent from deep.

She noted the Huskies will use Sunday's loss as motivation to win the title next year.

"Obviously, every loss is hard to swallow and hard to watch again and go through again," Bueckers said. "You just want to make sure and do everything that you can in the offseason to prevent that from happening again."

The Huskies haven't won the national title since 2016, which marked Auriemma's 11th championship as head coach. If UConn can make it back to the championship game in 2023, Auriemma will hope to improve his title game record to 12-1. 

The top-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the second-seeded UConn Huskies 64-49 on Sunday at Target Center in Minneapolis to capture their first NCAA women's title since 2017.

It's what we came here for and it's coming home to Columbia with us!

Nothing more needs to be said. #Redemption pic.twitter.com/ymkYq5yolR

— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) April 4, 2022

This marks South Carolina's second championship, and both have come under head coach Dawn Staley, who took over in 2008. It's been an incredibly impressive run by the Gamecocks, who also knocked off No. 1 seed Louisville in the Final Four on Friday.

As for UConn, this marks their first loss in the national championship game under head coach Geno Auriemma, who is now 11-1 in title games following the Huskies' loss to the Gamecocks.

South Carolina was paced by junior forward Aliyah Boston, who averaged a double-double in the NCAA tournament, and senior guard Destanni Henderson, both of whom proved their dominance Sunday.

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Notable Stats

Destanni Henderson, G, SC: 26 PTS, 2, REB, 4 AST, 3 STL

Paige Bueckers, G, UConn: 14 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK

Aliyah Boston, G, SC: 11 PTS, 16 REB, 3 AST, 2 BLK

Aaliyah Edwards, F, UConn: 8 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK

Zia Cooke, G, SC: 11 PTS, 5 REB

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Aliyah Boston the Driving Force Behind South Carolina's Title Win

Boston has been South Carolina's best player all year, and while she finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds and three assists in Sunday's title game, she was a game-changer for the Gamecocks.

The National Player of the Year's gravity is one of her most lethal weapons. She drew defenders all night long and was often double-teamed by Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.

That opened up the floor for guards Henderson and Zia Cooke, who led the way offensively for the Gamecocks. Henderson finished with 26 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the floor and 3-of-6 shooting from deep, while Cooke finished with 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the floor.

Destanni Henderson leads all scorers in the National Championship game with 26 pts (and counting).

Today was her first career 20-pt game in the NCAA Tournament (14th game including tonight). pic.twitter.com/o2T1pKvJOO

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 4, 2022

Destanni Henderson is on another LEVEL tonight. She has a career high 24 points!

South Carolina has taken over the game.#NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/Flnyyq4eeb

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 4, 2022

Destanni Henderson got HOOP game!!!!

— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) April 4, 2022

Destanni Henderson had played 73 games in her collegiate career. She's in her fourth season.

She had never scored more than 23 points in a game.

She has poured in 26 points in tonight's NCAA National Championship Game. pic.twitter.com/AxxqVFpfX5

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 4, 2022

3Q: Our bread and butter - defense leads to offense! What a make from @Zia_Cooke.

ESPN: https://t.co/ytRbsfm7nx
STATS: https://t.co/NvyoYS8DvY#WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/GyNsnMThCg

— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) April 4, 2022

E3: Henderson gets a free throw and this pretty finish to end the scoring in the third. Ten minutes to play, it's a 46-37 lead for Carolina!

ESPN: https://t.co/ytRbsfm7nx
STATS: https://t.co/NvyoYS8DvY#WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/kzdN7VPGuy

— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) April 4, 2022

4Q: We're packing in TWO @dh3so3hd buckets together, she's up to 20 points for the second time this season, Gamecocks back up by double digits!

ESPN: https://t.co/ytRbsfm7nx
STATS: https://t.co/NvyoYS8DvY#WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/iKiKvf30WY

— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) April 4, 2022

It was Henderson's best performance of the NCAA tournament, and it would not have been possible without Boston. Boston's gravity often left Henderson open for easy buckets. For comparison, the senior guard entered Sunday's title game averaging 10.2 points per game through the tournament.

Boston's incredible rebounding skills were also on full display against the Huskies. She finished with 16 rebounds, including five offensively, which helped the Gamecocks get a number of second-chance opportunities.

Behind Sunday's performance, Boston was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

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Turnovers, Lack of Rebounding the Dagger for UConn

The Huskies' frequent turnovers and lack of rebounding are what ultimately did them in Sunday night.

UConn finished with 15 turnovers and 24 rebounds. For comparison, South Carolina turned the ball over 14 times and recorded 49 rebounds, including 21 offensively.

If the Huskies had rebounded better, they might have been the ones walking off the court with the championship trophy. There really wasn't much of a size difference between the two sides either, so there was no excuse for UConn's poor rebounding.

Nelson-Ododa, a senior forward, is UConn's biggest player at 6'5", while Edwards, a sophomore forward, is 6'3". Boston, a junior forward, is South Carolina's largest player at 6'5", while Victaria Saxton stands 6'2".

It's also important to note that freshman guard Azzi Fudd and senior guard Christyn Williams were nonexistent offensively against the Gamecocks. Both players didn't have a single bucket until late in the fourth quarter, as Fudd went 1-of-3 from the floor and 1-of-2 from deep, while Williams went 1-of-7 from the floor and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Again, if Fudd and Williams had hit their shots, things could have gone much differently for the Huskies.

UConn star Paige Bueckers has signed a name, image and likeness contract with student services company Chegg ahead of the Final Four of the 2022 women's NCAA tournament.

Chegg announced Bueckers is its "first student-athlete brand ambassador" and noted the deal will focus on issues related to student hunger.

The Minnesota native is returning to her home state with the Huskies to play in the Final Four, and the partnership with Chegg will begin by teaming with hunger relief company Goodr to launch a pop-up grocery market Saturday in Minneapolis.

Bueckers and the companies hope to provide 6,000 meals as part of the event, and the long-term goal is to open permanent grocery stores at schools and college campuses around the country.

The 2021 Naismith College Player of the Year told ESPN's Alexa Philippou she's happy to be able to start the partnership near her hometown of Edina, a Minneapolis suburb.

"It means a lot," the 20-year-old said. "To be in a position to give back to a community that gave me so much, especially not knowing for so long if I could be here on the court with my team, it's really fulfilling. But it's also only just the start."

She added it's an opportunity to use her position as one of basketball's rising stars to help others.

"I am really lucky to have grown up with food on the table," Bueckers told ESPN. "Today I want to make sure I am sharing the opportunities I get and the resources I have with others who might need a hand. I have a lot of privilege and my responsibility to share."

The playmaking point guard missed nearly three months of her sophomore season with UConn because of a knee injury before rejoining the lineup in late February.

She's coming off her best performance since the return, tallying 27 points and six rebounds in a double-overtime victory over NC State in the Elite Eight.

Bueckers and the Huskies are set to face off against Stanford on Friday night, and the winner advances to face either Louisville or South Carolina in the national championship game Sunday.

BRIDGEPORT — A player was on the ground and in tears. She struggled to get up, sobbing in pain. Otherwise, the arena was silent. Her UConn teammates saw a sister down with a devastating injury. 

Again.

It was hard to discern the emotion inside Paige Bueckers when Dorka Juhasz went down with what appeared to be a compound wrist fracture, an injury Juhasz suffered on a drive to the basket following an offensive rebound early in the second quarter in the Elite Eight against NC State on Monday night. She was fouled on the play and fell directly on her left wrist. Teammates Nika Muhl and Evina Westbrook tried to hold in their tears. Olivia Nelson-Ododa's face showed fear, her eyes wide, her stare deep.

For Bueckers, something clicked into gear. After scoring just four points in the first half, she exploded for 23 in the second half in UConn's 91-87 double-overtime epic versus top-seeded NC State. Bueckers finished with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting in a game that had head coach Geno Auriemma acknowledging her new place among some UConn legends.

Losing a player in dramatic fashion was par for the course for UConn during the 2021-22 season. The Huskies lost Bueckers for almost three months after she hyperextended her knee on Dec. 5 in a win against Notre Dame.

Now, this was happening again, and there was only one thing Bueckers and her teammates could do. After going through the motions the rest of the second quarter, the Huskies left the floor with a 34-28 lead. Bueckers had only scored four points on 2-of-6 shooting.

According to senior Christyn Williams, Auriemma explained the shift in mindset had to be to win the game for the fallen Juhasz. It was what the entire team and especially Bueckers thought about for the second half and the two overtime periods that followed.

What ensued following the emotional second quarter was a performance from Bueckers that hadn't been on display since before she suffered a tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear. She was aggressive, scoring 23 points following the second quarter on 8-of-9 shooting. She made eight shots in a row from the third quarter through the second overtime period in a game that was a tit-for-tat classic.

Her performance was arguably the most important of her career, proving more meaningful than any of her Instagram-able highlights from her high school career and her Naismith College Player of the Year freshman season.

How did Bueckers get from point A, moving gingerly against Indiana in Saturday's Sweet 16 matchup, to point B, scoring 27 points and sending her team back to its 14th straight Final Four?

"During the game, especially during crunch time, in close games like that I just try to stay composed, try to keep being that leader for my team and just play with poise and play with calmness," Bueckers said. "It's easy to get flustered and sort of let your mind take over, and like I said, just get flustered when they're in close games like that. There's a lot going on. And then just finding a way to win. That's the main goal of basketball, and I want to win every game I play in."

But staying composed and patient with herself throughout the rehab process was a challenge for the sophomore. She struggled with the sadness that comes with being isolated and not being able to play. She noted on Sunday's pregame presser that it was her teammates and especially her closest friend on the team, Azzi Fudd, who helped her stay grounded and positive.

During the few months and 19 total games that she missed, Bueckers developed a patience that could temper her stubbornness. She wanted to play so badly but understood that taking her rehabilitation one day at a time would allow her the best shot at returning to who she was before her surgery.

Senior Evina Westbrook reminisced back to the time before Bueckers' injury, acknowledging what her team looked like and how an overreliance on Bueckers was a systemic issue.

"We don't need that one person to play for us," she told B/R. "I think that's what it kind of was and kind of looked like at the beginning of the season. We're just so used to like, 'Well, we know she's going to make it, so you know just let her do it.'"

While Bueckers recovered, her teammates took it upon themselves to improve, gain their own confidence and function without their star scorer.

How did the Huskies adjust? What did that look like?

For senior Olivia Nelson-Ododa, losing Bueckers and other players to injury led to inner reflection. She asked herself questions: What do I need to contribute? What will help this team win? 

"I think we all had a moment where we had to really think about that for ourselves," she said. "And I think that's when we started just coming together and realizing, 'OK, look, if I bring this and that and somebody else brings this, and we just kind of figure out a way to make it flow and work, we can be successful.'"

But was all of that null and void after Bueckers' heroics Monday night? Not necessarily.

What made Bueckers so effective was how she was able to read the NC State defense and pick the spots where she knew she had the most open or makeable shot. For her to get those looks, the other four players alongside her had to set the right screens and move off the ball rather than just stand around and watch. Bueckers had the space to create because of the work that Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards did as screeners and the commitment Fudd had to cutting along the baseline to free an open lane.

When Bueckers was gone, UConn had to raise its level of play. But when she returned at the end of February, it was clear that her presence raised the team's play even more.

"Thank God Paige came back; she gives everyone so much confidence, and everyone just kind of played and everyone took turns making plays," Auriemma told ESPN's Holly Rowe after the game.

The confidence that Bueckers brings to her teammates regardless of if she's 100 percent healthy was reminiscent of a similar vintage performance the women's basketball world saw this past fall. Diana Taurasi's Phoenix Mercury defeated the Las Vegas Aces in dramatic fashion in Game 5 of the WNBA Semifinals, a game in which Taurasi scored 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including a fourth quarter when she went 4-of-5. When asked if Bueckers' Elite Eight performance parallels at all to Taurasi, Auriemma was hesitant to compare players. 

He remarked that he hasn't seen anyone else play with the type of "resolve" and "toughness" amid the number of injuries that Taurasi has endured. As of now, Bueckers doesn't have the history of battling through injury time and again like the former UConn legend.

But he did acknowledge the shared qualities between Taurasi and Bueckers.

They both are gym rats, adore competing, aspire to compete at everything and believe they are the best at what they do. "I've seen D do what Paige did tonight," he said. "I saw it at home. We were playing TCU, and we were down at halftime. D had 31 in the game and just took over the entire second half and made sure we won."

On Monday night, Bueckers made sure the Huskies won.

When the final buzzer sounded following the second overtime period, the injured Juhasz, who had appeared in a sling and had her left wrist wrapped in gauze, walked over to center court to meet her teammates that had been on the floor.

It happened in an instant: The entire team surrounded her and enveloped her in a hug. And following the center-court meetup came Bueckers. She was ready to let her emotions rain.

"We got this, we got this for you," Bueckers shouted while embracing Juhasz with tears in her eyes.

The Final Four of the NCAA women's tournament is set with three No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 set to face off for the chance to play in the national championship game.

The Stanford Cardinal and South Carolina Gamecocks punched their tickets to the Final Four with wins over Texas and Creighton on Sunday, while the UConn Huskies and Louisville Cardinals punched their tickets Monday with wins over NC State and Michigan.

Here is a look at the Elite Eight scores, Final Four bracket and a deeper dive into each team and how it reached the Final Four.

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Elite Eight

No. 1 Stanford 59, No. 2 Texas 50

No. 1 South Carolina 80, No. 10 Creighton 50

No. 2 UConn 91, No. 1 NC State 87, 2OT

No 1. Louisville 62, No. 3 Michigan 50

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Bracket

The bracket for the 2022 NCAA women's tournament can be found at NCAA.com.

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Stanford

The Cardinal are the reigning national champions, and they have been playing like it.

Stanford kicked things off with a 78-37 win over 16th-seeded Montana State in the first round and followed it up with a 91-65 win over the No. 8 seed Kansas Jayhawks.

The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight caused more problems for the Cardinal, however. The fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins scored 30 points in the fourth quarter of their Sweet 16 matchup to give Stanford a scare, but the Cardinal escaped with a 72-66 win. 

The Elite Eight featured an even larger battle, as Texas held Stanford to 59 points, one of its lowest outputs of the season.

Stanford has received key contributions from Cameron Brink, Haley Jones and Lexie Hull, and Hannah Jump and Francesca Belibi have been reliable as well. 

Jump, a junior guard, is averaging 9.3 points per game while shooting 40.2 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from deep. Belibi, a junior forward, is averaging 7.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 58.9 percent from the floor.

If the Cardinal can continue to spread the wealth in the Final Four, they could be headed to the championship game for the second straight season.

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South Carolina

Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks are looking to reach the championship game for the first time since the 2016-17 season, when they won it all. 

Staley's squad has been dominant after losing the SEC championship game to Kentucky. It opened things with a 79-21 win over the 16th-seeded Howard Bison and followed that with a 49-33 win over No. 8 Miami. 

South Carolina faced its first challenged in the Sweet 16 when it met No. 5 UNC, but the Gamecocks used a 17-8 second quarter to win 69-61. The Elite Eight featured another easy matchup, as they won by 30 to advance to the Final Four. 

South Carolina has been led by junior forward Aliyah Boston, who is a force to be reckoned with. She's averaging 16.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 54.2 percent from the floor and 28.3 percent from deep.

The Gamecocks are also led by senior guard Destanni Henderson and junior guard Zia Cooke, who are averaging 11.1 and 10.7 points per game. 

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UConn

Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies are headed to the Final Four for the 14th straight season following their double overtime win over the No. 1 seed NC State Wolfpack on Monday in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The Huskies had defeated No. 15 Mercer 83-38 in the first round before taking down No. 7 UCF 52-47 and No. 3 Indiana 75-58. 

On Monday, Paige Bueckers took over in the second half and overtime. The superstar sophomore notched just four points in the first half before going off for 23 points the rest of the way, including 10 in the first overtime.

It was Bueckers' best game of the tournament, though she has been UConn's best player all season, averaging 14.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 55.1 percent from the floor and 36.2 percent from deep. Bueckers has played only 15 games this season because of a knee injury. 

In addition to Bueckers, senior Christyn Williams and freshman Azzi Fudd have been among the Huskies' top scorers, averaging 14.7 and 12.7 points per game. They'll need the trio to be at its best against Stanford on Friday.

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Louisville

For the first time since the 2017-18 season, the Louisville Cardinals are headed to the Final Four. 

Louisville has had a dominant NCAA tournament, kicking things off with an 83-51 win over No. 16 Albany. It then downed No. 9 Gonzaga 68-59 and No. 4 Tennessee 76-64. 

Monday's game between Louisville and Michigan was close through three quarters, but the Cardinals outscored the Wolverines 17-7 in the fourth to clinch a spot in the Final Four.

Hailey Van Lith, who leads the team with 14.5 points per game, finished Monday's game with 22 points. She was the best player on the court, while Chelsie Hall and Kianna Smith chipped in 15 and 11 points and Emily Engstler grabbed 16 rebounds.

If Louisville hopes to reach the championship game, it will need those three players to have similarly strong efforts against South Carolina and for Engstler, who had five points on 1-of-9 shooting against Michigan, to score closer to her average of 11.8 points per game.