Paige Bueckers drops 31 points as No. 10 UConn handles Villanova, 67-46
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 31 points and Aaliyah Edwards added her 16th double-double of the season as No. 10 UConn beat Villanova 67-46 on Wednesday night.
Bueckers made 11 of her 15 shots from the floor and Edwards finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the final regular-season home game for Connecticut (25-5, 17-0 Big East). The Huskies had already clinched the regular-season conference title and the top seed in next week’s Big East Tournament.
Kaitlyn Orihel had 15 points and Zanai Jones added 10 for Villanova (17-11, 10-7), which falls into a tie in the loss column with St. John’s and Marquette. The Red Storm clinched the No. 3 seed with Villanova’s loss. The Wildcats and the Golden Eagles will be in the four-five game at the tournament.
Bueckers, who had 16 points by halftime, opened the scoring with a jumper as the Huskies began the game with a 10-2 run and never trailed.
The Huskies led 15-10 after a quarter and 35-24 at the half.
They went up by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, but Bueckers also picked up her third and fourth fouls in that frame.
A layup by Villanova’s Bella Runyan cut the deficit to 49-42 early in the fourth quarter, but that would be as close as the Wildcats would get.
A three-pointer by Ashlynn Shade pushed the lead back to 57-44 and UConn extended the lead from there.
The Huskies held Villanova to just 18 baskets on 58 shots (31 percent shooting). Wildcats star Lucy Olsen, who came into the game averaging 23.6 points, was held to six points and made just two of her 16 shots.
BIG PICTURE
Villanova: The Wildcats fall to 1-4 against nationally ranked opponents this season. The win came last month against No. 23 Marquette (66-63). In addition to the two losses against UConn, they have also been beaten twice by No. 21 Creighton.
UConn: Since losing to South Carolina, the Huskies have won five straight games by 20-plus points.
UP NEXT
Villanova: The Wildcats head home to close out the regular season by hosting DePaul.
UConn: The Huskies finish the regular season on Saturday with a trip to Providence.
