The No. 5-ranked UConn women’s basketball team cruised to a 77-40 win over Providence on Sunday, extending the Huskies' Big East regular-season winning streak to 33 games. Paige Bueckers, who led the Huskies with 20 points, earned high praise from Providence women's basketball head coach Erin Batth after the game.

“Well with Paige, I mean, she's amazing,” Batth said, as reported by Maggie Vanoni of CT Insider. “The best that you can do, honey, is get a hand up and pray. … But we really wanted to try to build a wall. We tried to switch everything. … I think that that did pretty well with just kind of keeping her on her toes, but she's so smart anyway.”

Bueckers shot 6-for-12 from the field and was perfect from the free throw line, scoring all of her points in the first three quarters. Azzi Fudd added 17 points, and Ashlynn Shade contributed 12 off the bench for the Huskies. UConn dominated on both ends of the court, holding the Friars to just 27% shooting and forcing 25 turnovers.

The Huskies (22-3, 13-0 Big East) bounced back from a tough loss to Tennessee earlier in the week, using a strong defensive effort and efficient offense to overwhelm Providence (10-16, 3-10). Head coach Geno Auriemma highlighted the contributions of Kaitlyn Chen and Ashlynn Shade, who sparked the team early in the game.

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“We're at our best when Kaitlyn and Ash are making shots, making plays, you know, getting involved and being aggressive,” Auriemma said. “Especially in a game like this, where it's gonna be hard to get open looks, hard to get any kind of rhythm going. So that was huge.”

The Huskies took control with a 10-0 run late in the first quarter, building a 23-9 lead. They extended their dominance in the second, outscoring Providence 19-7 to head into halftime with a 42-16 advantage. Shade provided a major lift off the bench, scoring eight of her 10 first-half points in the opening quarter.

The Huskies' win highlighted its efficiency – the Huskies only had nine turnovers compared to Providence’s 25, per Brendan McGair of the Associated Press. UConn women's basketball will host St. John’s on Wednesday, while Providence travels to Xavier for its next matchup.