STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers tied her season high with 32 points, freshman Ashlynn Shade added 19 and No. 3 seed UConn held off Syracuse 72-64 on Monday night to earn a 30th straight trip to the Sweet 16.
It was the All-American’s fifth straight game with at least 25 points, and seventh in her last eight games.
Aaliyah Edwards finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds and KK Arnold had 10 points including a key 3-pointer late in the game to help seal the win for the Huskies (31-5).
DIFFERENT.
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) March 26, 2024
- 32 points
- 56% FG
- 10 rebounds
- 6 assists
- 1 block
- 4 steals pic.twitter.com/JxPRDI6i2k
Dyaisha Fair scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half as Syracuse (24-8) came back from a 12-point first half deficit to pull within two with just under two minutes left. But the Orange missed four 3-point attempts down the stretch and UConn scored seven of the game’s final eight points.
Sophie Burrows scored a career-high 18 points and Georgia Wooley had 13 of her 18 in the first half for the Orange.
UConn led by 11 points at halftime and Shade’s 3-pointer from the right corner, her fourth of the night, gave the Huskies a 53-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
But after UConn pushed that lead to 10 points, Husky point guard Nika Muhl, who had been guarding Fair, picked up three fouls in 30 seconds and fouled out of the game.
Coach Geno Auriemma had to be restrained by his assistants after she was called for her last, an offensive foul as she was bringing the ball up court, with UConn up 63-55 and 5:17 left in the game.
After Shade extended the lead back to 10 with a jumper, Fair and Burrows hit back-to-back 3-pointers and an elbow jumper from Alyssa Latham made it 65-63 with 1:53 left.
But freshman Arnold made a clutch 3-pointer from the left wing with 28 seconds left pushed the lead back to six and Syracuse missed four contested 3-pointers down the stretch.
The Orange had an early 16-13 lead after 3-pointer from Burrows, But the Huskies responded with a 17-2 run, keyed by three corner 3-pointers from Shade.
Bueckers, who was a first-team All-American, had 20 points before intermission and her shot with three seconds left in the half sent the teams to the locker room with UConn leading 39-28.
Up Next
The Huskies will face No. 7 Duke on Saturday in Portland. The Blue Devils upset No. 2 Ohio State in Sunday’s second round.