Bueckers can’t do it all as UConn comes up short for title

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — At the tail finish of the third quarter, Paige Bueckers picked up her to start with individual foul and plopped down on Connecticut’s bench for her only split of the night time — a entire 53 seconds of sport time.

The Huskies had to lean on their sophomore star as difficult as they could versus exceptional South Carolina on Sunday, and from any other group in the place she might have been enough.

But irrespective of yet another all-out energy by Bueckers, UConn nevertheless arrived up properly limited — the first reduction in application record in the title recreation — and fell 64-49 to the Gamecocks for the countrywide championship.

“I really do not imagine from the commencing of the game our offense ever looked like it was in any form of rhythm, any sort of circulation,” coach Geno Auriemma claimed. “Then Paige attempted to choose it on herself — that hardly ever is effective, when a person person is hoping to.”

Bueckers, taking part in just 10 miles from wherever she honed sharp-taking pictures, slick-passing and ace-ballhandling abilities at Hopkins Superior College, finished with a team-major 14 points on 6-for-13 capturing with six rebounds, two assists, one particular block and a single steal.

“Now we know how to get right here and how hard it is and how really hard we have to get the job done all all over the time and how considerably we have to triumph over,” Bueckers claimed at the job interview podium afterward, her voice wavering and her eyes reddened.

Immediately after grinding through an unwelcomed midseason rehab pursuing the still left knee personal injury that value her 19 video games and hitting her stride in the NCAA Event, the 2021 AP National Player of the Year experienced 14 details and 5 helps in UConn’s semifinal victory more than Stanford.

The Goal Heart lobby was packed two hours prior to tipoff, several rows deep on each sides of the crimson carpet rolled out for the players to stroll down on their entry into the arena. Judging by the handheld indicators from the adoring little ones and teens, Bueckers was by significantly the VIP of the entourage, even with Auriemma and his 11 nationwide championships.

The Gamecocks have one of the fiercest defenses in the video game, and they promised to send various defenders at Bueckers to keep her from receiving snug.

She by no means struggled, truly, but she couldn’t discover any sort of a rhythm, both, for the reason that of all the rebounds that have been gobbled up by the Gamecocks and all the turnovers and misses by her teammates. The relaxation of the Huskies have been 16 for 41 from the flooring and totaled 14 turnovers.

Azzi Fudd had an disease that stored her away from the early morning shootaround and had only 3 points in 17 minutes. Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who had four factors and four fouls, performed by a groin damage. South Carolina had a whopping 49-24 rebound benefit.

“We wished to box out truly perfectly, push the ball in transition to get them running, get them tired,” Bueckers reported. “But South Carolina is a excellent workforce. They experienced a excellent game.”

Soon after South Carolina sprinted to a 13-2 direct, Bueckers didn’t get a shot off till a jumper that bounced off the back rim with 3:21 left in the first quarter — her only try of the opening time period. She didn’t rating right until midway by way of the next quarter.

“We commonly really do not have any challenge having Paige pictures, but tonight it was a issue, and I believe South Carolina had almost everything to do with that,” Auriemma claimed.

Brea Beal and Destanni Henderson invested most of the evening guarding Bueckers. She tried to scrape off screens for catch-and-shoot prospects or uncover place for her favored pull-up jumpers, but there was not significantly room in the 50 percent court for the Huskies to maneuver. All six of her tends to make were soar shots. She designed 1 of a few tries from 3-point variety.

“I knew I experienced to use my velocity and make sure I stayed with her,” Henderson claimed. “I feel that’s what we have been practicing all alongside. The initial time we performed them, that really worked out properly for us, so I realized I essential to arrive into this game and carry that exact momentum.”

Bueckers experienced 19 details on 8-for-19 capturing on Nov. 22 in UConn’s 73-57 decline to South Carolina.

With the imposing Aliyah Boston, who succeeded Bueckers as the Participant of the 12 months award winner, and her buddies patrolling the paint, obtaining to the basket was difficult for the Huskies — unless of course they observed a backdoor move from Bueckers to a chopping teammate.

As if that wasn’t adequate, Bueckers also spent a lot of her evening chasing all-around Henderson on the other finish, as the Gamecocks senior went out on really the substantial observe with a occupation-significant 26 points.

The Huskies dropped to Arizona in the Remaining Four previous yr. Bueckers was denied the probability to play for a championship in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic that halted the Minnesota state large university event just before Hopkins made it to the title game. Bueckers led the Royals to the 2019 title all through her junior time, a couple of miles absent at Williams Arena, but Hopkins misplaced in the 2018 championship at Target Center.

“Just remaining in a position to be listed here with my crew and commit a lot more time with each and every other, establish additional recollections, and to do it at property was wonderful,” Bueckers claimed. “Nobody in my posture would be content right now, so I’m definitely upset just with the way items finished. Tremendous happy of this group for how considerably we have appear and all the adversity we have dealt with and all we have get over to get to this place. But at UConn, it’s national championship or nothing.”

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Much more AP coverage of March Insanity: https://apnews.com/hub/march-insanity and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-university-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top rated25

By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer