UConn notes: Huskies seniors, underclassmen all learned from each other
Mar. 28—BRIDGEPORT — UConn sophomore Paige Bueckers was complimentary to seniors Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, with whom she shared the interview podium Sunday as part of the Huskies' starting five.
Williams had 15 points, six rebounds and three assists to help lead the Huskies into Monday's Bridgeport Regional championship game with Saturday's win over Indiana and Nelson-Ododa had 10 points and 14 rebounds to lead a dominant UConn rebounding performance.
"They've been doing it their whole careers here," Bueckers said, "just playing with a whole lot of passion, playing with a whole lot of heart. Just to have that senior leadership to lean on. I know there's a lot of pressure that can be put on them because they're seniors and they're supposed to do it, but the way they've stepped up this whole tournament and this whole year has been crucial to us.
"I love both of them. I'm going to miss them so much."
UConn fifth-year senior Evina Westbrook, meanwhile, said recently that the upper classmen have also learned from the younger members of the team, beginning with last year when there were seven talented but occasionally irreverent freshmen on the roster — they began jokingly calling Hall of Fame UConn coach Geno Auriemma "Big G," for instance.
"I think we learned a lot about ourselves as individuals," Westbrook said. "We had to be really, really patient at times with them being so young.
"I think they also kind of taught us how to loosen up and have fun. When I first got here, everything was super serious, as it should be, really mature and things like that. When they kind of got here, the sophomores now, the freshmen, it was like just enjoy the moment ... without saying it, just kind of with their actions. We kind of made this bond with everyone."
Hold up
— UConn's Bueckers, one of the most high-profile women's basketball players in the college game since earning national player of the year honors as a freshman, has signed deals with Gatorade, Cash App and StockX since the NCAA began allowing athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness (NIL).
Bueckers noted this week, however, that although she's grateful for the boundless opportunities she and her teammates have been given, she's been focusing solely on basketball in March.
"For me, I've sort of canceled out the whole NIL stuff during the month of March," Bueckers said. "I told my agency, I told the people in my circle, I just want to strictly focus on basketball this month. It's what I wanted to do all year but sort of off days and stuff, we'd sort of get some stuff done.
"I think our whole team, we put basketball first and everything behind that comes second. But it's really exciting just for the opportunities that we're getting this year with the NIL opportunities. I think women's basketball is doing really well in that regard. I think we're taking great strides with it."
Better than Bey
— In last year's Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against top-seeded Louisville, N.C. State graduate transfer Raina Perez, who formerly played at Cal State Fullerton, hit a game-winning jump shot with 2.1 seconds remaining to give the Wolfpack the 58-56 victory.
On Saturday, time was again winding down with N.C. State trailing when Perez stole the ball at midcourt and took the ball for a layup and the lead in what was a 66-63 win over Notre Dame. The Wolfpack scored the final seven points of the game.
"After you hit one play you're confident," Perez said. "After you hit two, you're like, 'Oh, shoot.' Right? It's crazy because I never really expected for those things to happen. You don't go into a game saying, 'Oh, yeah, I'm going to hit the game-winning shot' or 'I'm going to get the game-winning steal.' You don't ever think those things."
N.C. State coach Wes Moore had some pretty high words of praise for the personable Perez, who leads the team in assists with 2.9 per game.
"What can you say about Raina?" Moore said. "I mean, you know, Beyonce is big but Raina blows her away. I mean, come on. Two years in a row. Last year she hits the jumper to win the ACC tournament, now this year she gets a pick there when it looked like it was going to be pretty hard. Unbelievable."
News and notes
— Beginning with next season, the NCAA will change the format to include only two regional sites per season, with two regionals being held at each site. Next year's cities will be Greenville, S.C., and Seattle, followed by Albany, N.Y., and Portland, Ore., in 2024; Birmingham, Ala., and Spokane, Wash., in 2025; and Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif., in 2026. ... Last time UConn met N.C. State, UConn topped the Wolfpack in the Fresno Regional semifinal 78-71, led by 18 points from Charde Houston and 17 each from Tina Charles and Kalana Greene. ... N.C. State 6-foot-5 senior center Elissa Cunane entered Monday's game as the Wolfpack's all-time leader with 511 career free throws. She just one of 14 active Division I players with 500-plus career free throws.
