UConn women’s basketball beat the Villanova Wildcats 83-52 on Sunday at Finneran Pavilion but the final result proved to be a secondary concern.
Paige Bueckers suffered an apparent left knee injury when a Villanova defender dove into her leg in the third quarter. She went down clutching the knee but walked off the court under her own power and went straight into the locker room. Bueckers was visibly emotional when she returned to the bench and did not re-enter to the game.
Bueckers previously suffered a tibial plateau fracture, lateral meniscus tear and torn ACL in the same left knee earlier in her UConn career. Before going out, she’d totaled 15 points and nine assists. The team believes she avoided a worst-case scenario.
“She’s pretty good,” an upbeat Geno Auriemma told SNY postgame. “She’ll be fine. She looks good. I’m optimistic.”
Elsewhere in the game, Sarah Strong dominated with 21 points on 9-12 shooting to go with five rebounds and four assists. KK Arnold set a season-high in scoring for the second straight contest with 15 points while Azzi Fudd and Ashlynn Shade each had eight points. Kaitlyn Chen chipped in seven assists.
As a team, the Huskies assisted on 30 of 35 baskets.
Neither side struggled for offense in the first quarter. UConn moved the ball well and had no trouble finding open shots — especially down low. Villanova took advantage of a mismatch with its small lineup and knocked down plenty of good looks as well. The two sides combined for just three turnovers in the period.
That quickly changed right away in the second quarter. While the Huskies’ offense continued to roll, the defense stepped it up. They forced giveaways on three of the Wildcats’ first four possessions, which led to eight straight points down the other end. UConn limited Villanova to just three baskets in the second quarter and took a 43-24 lead into halftime.
Out of the break, the Huskies started a little slow. The Wildcats couldn’t miss early on and went on an 8-0 run before UConn seized momentum back. The Huskies closed the third quarter on a 21-4 burst while scoring the final 12 points.
UConn closed out the remainder of the game to come away with a 31-point victory.
Next, the Huskies will return home for the first time in 2025 to take on Xavier at the XL Center on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on SNY.
