Paige Bueckers’ homecoming nothing short of sensational as she led eighth-ranked Connecticut to a 62-44 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers inside Williams Arena in Minneapolis.
Bueckers, a likely top three pick in next year’s WNBA Draft, starred at Hopkins High School in the Twin Cities where she was the No. 1 recruit in the country and the national Gatorade Player of the Year in 2020.
Minnesota kept it close in the first half, trailing just 26-23 to a UConn team that on Thursday blasted 20th-ranked Maryland 80-48. But the Huskies turned on the jets in the third quarter, outscoring the Gophers 21-6 to take an 18-point lead into the fourth quarter and they never let Minnesota get close.
Bueckers finished with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting with eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Minnesota shot 9-of-38 in the first half compared to 11-of-25 for Connecticut, a large disparity in shot attempts thanks to the Gophers’ 11 offensive rebounds. And when the offensive rebounds stopped coming and the shots evened up, the Huskies pulled away.
The Gophers shot 17-of-65 (26.2%) overall and 6-of-34 (17.6%) from 3.
Mara Braun, averaging 21.0 points per game in Minnesota’s 3-0 start to the season, had her worst shooting performance in a long time, hitting 4-of-21 shots including 2-of-11 from 3-point range. She finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
