Paige Buecker, no. 2 UConn women beat Oregon State 71-52 at Baha Mar

On By Littum

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting and No. 2 UConn never trailed as the Huskies beat Oregon State 71-52 at the Baha Mar Women’s Championship.

Sarah Strong, the 2024 Naismith High School Player of the Year, had 13 points, eight rebounds, six steals and two blocks for UConn (5-0). Jana El Alfy had 12 points.

Allie Ziebell scored seven of UConn’s 20 points in the second quarter, and the Huskies took a 42-19 lead into halftime.

AJ Marotte led the Beavers (1-5) with 17 points and Kelsey Rees scored 10.

Takeaways

Oregon State: Beavers need a solid win. They have lost three straight games and are winless against Division-I opponents this season. The Beavers’ lone victory was an 80-52 victory over Division-II Northwest Nazarene in their home opener.

UConn: The Huskies have too much talent for most teams. They are 3-0 all-time against the Beavers, with each game coming at neutral sites. The first meeting between the programs was exactly 29 years ago, on November 25, 1995.

Key moment

Bueckers, the reigning Big East Player of the Week, hit a jumper to open the scoring and added three 3-pointers as she scored 11 first-quarter points on 5-of-5 shooting and the Huskies jumped to a 22-7 lead entering the other.

Key state

Both teams shot 44% overall, but the Huskies attempted 19 more field goals than Oregon State. UConn had 11 steals, forced 24 OSU turnovers and held a 12-4 edge on the offensive glass. Connecticut outscored the Beavers 24-17 in points off turnovers and 12-2 on second chances.

Next

Oregon State: Takes on Boston College in third place.

UConn: Player no. 18 in Mississippi in the title game.