MN hoops sensation Paige Bueckers adds to growing legend at UConn
Paige Bueckers continues to make her case to be known as the best women's college basketball player on the planet.
The freshman sensation from Minnesota scored 31 points to lead No. 2 Connecticut over No. 1 South Carolina 63-59 in overtime Monday night. Bueckers added four rebounds, five assists and four steals, all of which led to her hitting the game-winning shot with 10.8 seconds left in OT.
"I went to UConn to play in huge games like this. Obviously the crowd wasn't there, but just having my family there to watch me and put that UConn jersey on, it's the first time my dad has seen it live," Bueckers said. "It was really fun out there."
Bueckers led Hopkins High School to a state title her senior year and is well on her way to becoming the next legend in Connecticut basketball history.
The 19-year-old is the first freshman in UConn history to have three consecutive 30-point games, according to ESPN. That's saying something considering the likes of Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Rebecca Lobo and Breanna Stewart played at UConn.
Bueckers put up 32 points against St. John's on Feb. 3 and 30 points against Marquette last Friday. Her 31 points Monday boosted her season average to 21.1 per game. She's also averaging better than five assists and rebounds per game while shooting 56.9% from the field and an incredible 55.6% from three.