STORRS—This one was a statement game. Sure it was played in an arena devoid of fans thanks to the pandemic we're all coping with these days. And sure it came less than 24 hours after Tom Brady led his Tampa Bay Bucs to the Super Bowl championship—the seventh title for #TB12. But this one was humongous. South Carolina vs. UConn. No. 1 vs. No. 2.
And in the end, it was the Huskies that came through, fueled by a 31-point performance by the incomparable Paige Bueckers—the latest in the long line of Husky “best evers.” And of course, it was a long, LONG three-pointer that hit the back of the rim, bounced high into the air, and swooshed back down through the nets that sealed the deal for the Huskies, with Connecticut up by a point with 13 seconds remaining in OT.
Game, set, match, Huskies. Compliments largely of their supremely talented freshman.
"It bounced straight up, so I was like, 'Man, it's got to go in,'" said Bueckers, who scored all of her team's nine points in the extra stanza. "It looked good. It felt good, but, yeah, I would say that was a really nice bounce."
The Gamecocks' Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson missed 3-pointers in the final seconds.
Aliyah Boston had 17 points and 15 rebounds for South Carolina (15-2), which overcame a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit.
A layup by Aubrey Griffin had given the Huskies a 50-43 lead with just over 8 minutes left, before South Carolina turned up the defense and went on an 11-0 run.
Victaria Saxton's layup over Olivia Nelson-Ododa gave the Gamecocks a 52-50 lead, and Boston's jumper extended that to 54-50 with just under 2 1/2 minutes to play.
But Bueckers hit two straight jumpers to tie the game at 54 with 46 seconds left in regulation.
Henderson missed a fall-away jumper with 4 seconds left and the Gamecocks missed three chances to tip-in a game winner.
Bueckers' heroics ended a 12-game winning streak for South Carolina.
"She's that player," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "She's that player that comes along that people talk about—'Hey did you see that kid from Connecticut?' She's that kid."
"We'll learn from it," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "I told our players that everything we want it still in front of us."
Bueckers has 142 points over her last five games and 93 over her last three, scoring 30 or better in each of those.
“It's been a long time since one player has had to carry a team as much as she's had to in some of these games," Auriemma said.
With the win, the Huskies improve to 14-1, while the Gamecocks fall to 15-2.
Next up, the Huskies will host Seton Hall Wednesday night at Gampel (6:30 p.m. ET, SNY), while the Gamecoks—who have been on the road for four of their last five games—return home to take on Missouri (ESPN/SEC Network) at 7 p.m. (ET) on Thursday night.
—With Staff Reports
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