SAN ANTONIO – UConn’s freshman Paige Bueckers made a big comeback to the Huskies’ in-depth NCAA tournament legacy on Sunday, setting a school record for most points in a tournament debut with 24 in a 102- 59 Series of 16-Point Highlight.
The highly regarded guard, who was named to the Associated Press All-America team last week, added nine rebounds and six assists as Huskies selected best without their coach, Geno Auriemma, on the bench due to COVID-19- protocol.
“I was just excited to get out of here,” Bueckers said. “We’ve been training for Madness since August in March, and we’m just excited that it could happen. We know through the ups and downs of this year, we’re just excited and blessed to be here.”
For Bueckers, except that she played well, nothing was so normal at her first game, however. After all, Auriemma watched the game from home in Connecticut, while Chris Dailey, a longtime co-coach, filled in. However, Bueckers could still feel Auriemma’s presence.
“I could hear Coach screaming in my ear. I think in the first quarter I took about two shots, so I know he was screaming on TV, I know he was screaming at me,” she said. “So I knew it was going to be in the second quarter, so I tried to be more aggressive.”
Bueckers said she gets nervous before any game, but in an opening game with unusual circumstances – such as playing in an empty Alamodome – she showed the kind of position she became known for. She only revealed her inexperience after the post-match, when she shamelessly came out while ESPN’s Holly Rowe interviewed her.
“It’s a year of firsts, and I just wanted to say I’m a big fan of Holly Rowe, and it’s always been a dream of mine to be interviewed by her after a game,” she said. said a big smile. “So I’m just excited to be here.”
Bueckers did start slowly, but made her stand out after an ankle injury to starting guard Nika Muhl, and scored 10 of her 13 points in the first half in a spate of drives to the basket and pullers.
“She likes to feel the game out, and she likes to get her teammates involved,” Dailey said. “I thought we should start running plays to get her shots. That’s what we did, and it helped a lot.
“Her pull up reminds me a lot of Sue Bird. When Sue Bird took a pull-up, I thought it was automatic, and she never missed it,” Dailey said. “And I think the same light with Paige, it’s just automatically going up with her.”
Bueckers said the coaching switch was ‘different’, but noted how important the continuity of Dailey’s experience is.
“Coach and CD have been doing this for 36 years, so of course they have a very high IQ for basketball,” Bueckers said. “When a coach walks out, CD goes up. It’s obviously different than coach on us screaming and CD on us screaming, but they are both a good basketball spirit and we can count on both.”
Bueckers took over a leadership role in the young Huskies, unusual for a team historically filled with experienced depth and stellar power. But with seven freshmen and no seniors, Bueckers welcomed the burden of responsibility, something Dailey said often brings out the next gear in her.
“Paige has absolutely a different gear. The more physical the game is, if she thinks she’s failing, the gear comes faster,” Dailey said. “Paige has another gear, and if she gets to that point, it’s hard to stop her.”
Although the Huskies handled Highpoint relatively easily, they know that the games from here will get tougher. 8 Syracuse awaits them on Tuesday, which happens to be Auriemma’s 67th birthday.
Bueckers is already thinking of the obvious present.
“I hope to win,” she said, “so he can come out here with us.”
Sunday was the 12th time in her debut season that Bueckers had crowned 20 points at the top, and those 24 points have tied her for the fourth most by a UConn freshman in the NCAA Tournament since 2000, according to ESPN Stats & Information.