Paige Bueckers leads UConn to their 19th Big East Championship

By: Ty Jordan

The UConn Women’s Basketball team has won the Big East tournament by defeating Marquette 73 – 39 at Mohegan Sun Arena. UConn rejoined the league this season after seven years in the American Athletic Conference. During their time in the AAC, the Huskies won seven straight titles.

| HUSKIES WIN |@WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/lA4awMIEms

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) March 9, 2021

The Huskies were led by freshman phenome, and Big East Player of the Year, Paige Bueckers who led that way with 23 points on 10 of 15 shooting with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Fellow Huskies Christyn Williams and Nika Muhl finished with 16 and 11 respectively in UConn’s route of the Golden Eagles.

From the get-go, the Huskies looked destined to win the game as they opened up the first quarter of play on a 9-0 run. Defense proved to be the key factor for the Huskies as they took a 41-23 lead into halftime.

The second half was more of the same with the Huskies controlling the tempo from start to finish. The Golden Eagles played some tough defense down the stretch, but the Huskies were unfazed. The Huskies have been playing their best basketball of the season and it showed at they only allowed Marquette to score 16 points in the second half. Marquette was led by Camryn Taylor who put up 11 points in the loss.

The Huskies went into the game being ranked as the number one overall team in the NCAA tournament. This Huskies team has peaked at the right time as they attempt to bring a national championship to Storrs, Connecticut for the first time since 2016.

The win is UConn’s 19th Big East Championship. The Huskies also extended their conference play win streak, which now sits at 160 straight games.