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.
Latest Women's Basketball
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- No. 3 Huskies to Face No. 23 Creighton in BIG EAST ChampionshipThe No. 3 ranked and No. 1 seeded UConn women's basketball team (30-3) will face No. 23 ranked and No. 2 seeded Creighton (26-5) for the BIG EAST Championship on Monday at 7 p.m. The game will air on FS1 and the UConn Sports Network from Learfield (FOX Sports 97-9).
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- Top-Seeded Huskies to Face St. John’s in BIG EAST QuarterfinalsThe top-seeded and third-ranked UConn women's basketball team (28-3, 18-0 BIG EAST) takes on eighth-seeded St. John's (16-14, 5-13) in the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals Saturday at noon in Mohegan Sun Arena. The game will air on FS1 and the UConn Sports Network from Learfield (FOX Sports 97-9).
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- Strong Named The Athletic’s Freshman of the YearUConn women's basketball forward Sarah Strong was unanimously selected as The Athletic's Freshman of the Year, the publication announced Wednesday.
