Paige Bueckers, UConn Survive Slow Start, Sail to Sweet 16

A historic coda from Paige Bueckers guided the Connecticut Huskies to yet another appearance in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament's Sweet 16.

Mar 24, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) drives the ball against South Dakota State Jackrabbits guard Madison Mathiowetz (3) in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The last page of Paige Bueckers' Storrs story yielded a happy ending for the University of Connecticut Huskies on Monday.

A Bueckers breakout helped UConn overcome a slow start in their latest triumph in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament's second round, which saw them call midnight on South Dakota State's Cinderella story by way of a 91-57 final. UConn (33-3) will appear in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 round for the 31st consecutive occasion after Monday's win.

Mar 24, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) shoots the ball against South Dakota State Jackrabbits guard Paige Meyer (21) in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Bueckers gave Gampel one last showcase before her professional entry, pairing a career-best-tying 34 points with four steals. She became just the third Husky to tally at least 2,000 points and 500 assists and rebounds each alongside Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi.

Monday proved to be a glimpse of Storrs' past, present, and future, as freshman Sarah Strong had a strong encore to her tournament debut, earning 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Azzi Fudd was the last of three Connecticut women in double figures, tallying 17 points on 6-of-12 from the field.

Though the final score hardly hinted at trouble, the Huskies had their hands full with the lowest seed left on the women's bracket: the 10th-ranked Jackrabbits, fresh off an upset victory over Oklahoma State in the opening round, kept UConn off the board for the first 3:36 of the game (though the UConn defense let up only a Madison Mathiowetz three-pointer in that span) and even carried a lead into the first quarter's final minute. Bueckers missed two shots within the first 40 seconds, part of an ugly start that saw UConn come up empty on each of its first seven tries from the field.

Appropriately, Bueckers gave UConn its permanent lead with a successful and-one with 37 seconds remaining. It was part of a 10-2 UConn run that closed out the period, one where the Huskies' tallies were exclusively earned by Bueckers. After that trip to the foul line, she hit a buzzer-beating triple to put the Huskies up by five at the first break.

Paige Meyer narrowed the gap to three at the onset of the second but Connecticut coasted from there on out, closing the period on a 16-8 run over the final 5:27 of the half. Between points and assists, Bueckers played a role in 14 of UConn's 24 period points.

The Huskies then left no doubt whatsoever with a 29-8 victory in the third. The only drama left was when Bueckers' exit would come: she departed to raucous ovation with 3:38 remaining, mere seconds after she secured her personal best on a successful midrange try off a feed from Aubrey Griffin.

Mar 24, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts after a play against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

South Dakota State (30-4) lost for the first time in the calendar year after losing 25 turnovers that led to 35 Connecticut points. Meyer was the lone Jackrabbit in double figures with 16 points, pairing them with four rebounds and three assists.

With their win, UConn will now face third-ranked Oklahoma in the Spokane 4 regional semifinal on Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags