UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 21 of her 23 points in the first half and No. 3 UConn held Villanova without a field goal for more than 16 minutes to beat the Wildcats 82-54 on Sunday, advancing to the Big East championship game.
Sarah Strong added 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Huskies (30-3), who will be trying for their fifth consecutive Big East crown Monday night.
Bueckers put on a show for the huge crowd that included members of the Dallas Wings front office staff. The Wings have the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft next month. Bueckers scored from all over and helped UConn blow open a tight game toward the end of the first half.
UConn turned a four-point game into a 47-37 lead at the break.
Villanova (18-14), which was led by Maddie Webber's 15 points, couldn't get back within single digits the rest of the game.
UConn led 37-33 with 3:31 left in the second quarter before using a 22-4 spurt spanning the half to blow the game open. Strong had 11 points during the game-changing spurt.
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