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UConn star Paige Bueckers said she’s focusing on enjoying her final college postseason run after leading the Huskies to their fifth straight Big East Tournament title Monday night. The No. 3-ranked Huskies defeated No. 22 Creighton 70-50 at Mohegan Sun Arena behind 24 points from Bueckers and 13 from Azzi Fudd.
“There’s an emphasis on me having fun during this last postseason run, just enjoying it, just embracing it,” Bueckers said, as reported by Alexa Philippou of ESPN. “I love playing with this team, I love playing at UConn, I love playing in these environments.”
The win marked the 23rd Big East Tournament championship for UConn women's basketball and extended the Huskies' dominance in the league since rejoining in 2021.
Bueckers, who is expected to be the No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA Draft, improved to 66-0 in Big East play during her UConn career.
“It’s very cool. It’s hard to do something that’s never been done at UConn before,” Bueckers said. “I feel like everything’s been accomplished, so I’m grateful and blessed. But it’s really a team achievement.”
UConn women's basketball set sights on NCAA Tournament
UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma praised Bueckers’ ability to rise to the moment.
“For her to be able to constantly come up with these kind of performances, time and time again, she just has that thing that those kinds of players have,” he said.
The Huskies (31-3) opened the game with an 11-0 run and never trailed. Sarah Strong notched 13 points, 11 rebounds and six steals. UConn’s defense held Creighton to 6-for-23 from three-point range, well below the Bluejays’ season average.
Creighton (26-6) committed 19 turnovers, including seven in the first quarter, which added to the early deficit. Lauren Jensen led the Bluejays with 13 points.
After the game, Bueckers took time to sign autographs and pose for photos, taking in the moment of what was likely her final appearance at Mohegan Sun Arena in a UConn jersey.
Both UConn and Creighton now await their NCAA Tournament seedings, which will be announced Sunday night. The Huskies enter March Madness as one of the top national contenders.
“The road to these tournaments, it looks easy because sometimes we have a tendency to make it look easier than it really is,” Auriemma said. “But the amount of work that goes into what we try to do and how we do it, the reward that you get is being able to play in this game and win a game like this.”
Reporting by Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press contributed to this article.
