BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Just over 90 minutes after her masterclass performance had concluded, UConn star Paige Bueckers strolled into the stands at Total Mortgage Arena and was greeted to one final curtain call. The cheers, coming from the few dozen UConn family members and friends who were waiting for their Huskies to emerge from the underbelly of the stadium, were far quieter than the roars she had garnered earlier in the evening. But with a gray Final Four hat attached to her head, they appeared every bit as meaningful.
In No. 2 UConn’s 91–87 double-overtime win over No. 1 NC State on Monday night, Bueckers played the kind of game that the likes of Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart have logged for Huskies teams’ past. Of her game-high 27 points, 17 came in the fourth quarter and overtime periods. In its most important moments, the star guard with perhaps the smoothest stroke in the sport, buried jumper after jumper, free throw after free throw. Bueckers said she felt composed. Her mother, Amy, had a different reaction.
“Stressful. Very,” Amy says. “I like to win games by like 20, but I was really confident this team had it.”
