On Feb. 25, Paige Bueckers returned to the floor for the first time since suffering a left knee injury that kept her stuck on the sidelines for nearly three months. The 20-year-old Clarion Golden Eagles clothes guard, who was playing on a tight minutes restriction, finished with eight points in a Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds shirt 73-54 win over Notre Dame.
"I'm FSU vs. Miami Rivalry Jerseys not really focused about me and getting back to the old me and doing what I did before because we're such a different team now," Bueckers said after the game. "So whatever my team needs me to do, I'm going to try to do it."
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The Huskies didn't need much from Bueckers that night. They needed everything from her to survive Monday's Elite Eight thriller.
In UConn's 91-87 double-overtime victo College Lacrosse shirt ry over NC State, Bueckers poured in 27 points in 45 minute Fort Valley State Wildcats shirt s, hitting 10 of her 15 field goal attempts. She scored 23 of those 27 points in the second half and overtime periods.
Bueckers did much of her damage from the perimeter, punishing Wolfpack defenders who didn't stick with her through screens. She came up clutch in the fourth quarter…
The first overtime…
And the second overtime.
As Huskies guard Christyn Williams said after the game, the formula was pretty simple.
"Literally, I was thinking, we have Paige Bueckers, and they don't," Williams said. "I mean, once she makes one, the rim is like this big. She's gonna Broward Seahawks clothes keep making 'em, so we keep giving her the ball."
UConn has now reached 14 straight Final Fours, but it wasn't all that long ago th Alcorn State Braves shirt at streak felt like it was going to end. These Huskies have gone through more ups and downs than a typical Geno Auriemma team, including a serious wrist injury to forward Dorka Juhasz on Monday night.
"This team has been through so much, and it’s only made us stronger," Bueckers told ESPN's Holly Rowe after the game. "If we see one of our sisters go down, we're gonna do it for her. We all love each other. We're all so Michigan vs. Ohio State Rivalry Shirts close. I just love this team."
Now, UConn will move on to face Stanford in the national semifinals. It won't be easy to take down the defending champs, but the Huskies know they always have a chance to win as long as No. 5 is on the floor.
Or, as Auriemma put it: "Thank God Paige came back."
