Paige Bueckers scored 15 points before exiting with an injury in No. 7 UConn’s 83-52 rout of host Villanova on Sunday.
Bueckers added nine assists for the Huskies (13-2, 4-0 Big East) before getting hurt with 1:17 left in the third quarter after a collision near midcourt. Bueckers was going for a loose ball when Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe dove and went into the All-American’s left knee, bending it back awkwardly.
“She’s pretty good. I mean, it was unfortunate, the kid dove for the ball and I’m sure people saw. Paige turned her back and it was a weird situation,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said after the win. “It’s funny because we had someone at the scorer’s table ready to check in. But she’ll be fine. She looks good. I’m optimistic, let’s put it that way.”
Bueckers — who tore the ACL in that knee in 2022, an injury that sidelined her for a year — sat on the court for a minute before limping off. She went to the locker room before returning to the bench a few minutes later. She did not return to the floor.
“It’s not the worst that we can imagine,” Auriemma said. “So, that’s great news considering how awkward it was.”
The game was tight early before the Huskies took an eight-point lead by the end of the first quarter. Sarah Strong, who led UConn with 21 points, had 10 of them in the opening 10 minutes. UConn extended the advantage over Villanova (7-8, 1-2) to 43-26 at the half.
The Wildcats got within 47-34 early in the third quarter before Azzi Fudd scored five straight for UConn during a 7-0 run to put the game away.
The Huskies will play host to Xavier on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
