Paige Bueckers had 15 points before leaving with an injury to help No. 7 UConn beat Villanova 83-52

1:48

Paige Bueckers heads to the locker room after getting tangled up on the court

Paige Bueckers heads to the locker room after getting tangled up and returns to the bench with her knee wrapped in ice.

Jan 5, 2025, 08:57 pm

VILLANOVA, Pa. -- — Paige Bueckers scored 15 points before leaving the game with an injury to help No. 7 UConn rout Villanova 83-52 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-Americans' left knee, bending it back awkwardly.

Bueckers 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 didn't go back into the game.

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.

Takeaways

UConn: All eyes will be on Bueckers' knee. She tore the ACL in that knee in 2022 that sidelined her for a year.

Villanova: The Wildcats have four of their next five games on the road and will need to find more consistent scoring to snap the two-game skid.

Key stat

Bascoe had a rough afternoon, scoring 12 points while going 4-for-17 from the field. She missed 10 of her first 11 shots.

Key moment

The game was tied at nine before Strong and Bueckers scored seven straight points and Villanova got no closer than six the rest of the way.

Up next

UConn: hosts Xavier on Wednesday.

Villanova: visits Georgetown on Wednesday.

------

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball