Pagie Bueckers scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Ashlynn Shade shot 5-of-9 from 3-point range en route to 19 points and No. 3 seed Connecticut clinched its 30th consecutive Sweet 16 with a 72-64 home defeat of No. 6 seed Syracuse in the Women’s NCAA Tournament Portland 3 region on Monday in Storrs, Conn.
UConn (31-5) led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter and held a 10-point advantage on Shade’s jumper with 3:16 remaining in regulation. But back-to-back 3-pointers by Dyaisha Fair and Sophie Burrows and an Alyssa Latham basket over a torrid 64 seconds pulled Syracuse to within two points.
Both Burrows’ 3-pointer and Latham’s jumper came after Syracuse steals, part of the 20 points Syracuse (24-8) scored off 17 UConn turnovers.
Bueckers ended the drought to push the Huskies’ lead to four points, and after a steal by Shade, freshman KK Arnold rolled in a 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining that effectively put the game away.
Arnold made both of her attempts from beyond the arc on the night on the way to 10 points. The win-sealing 3-pointer came off the last of Bueckers’ six assists.
Bueckers also made a game-high four steals. Aaliyah Edwards posted 11 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
Fair led Syracuse with 20 points, dished six assists and made three steals. Burrows and Georgia Woolley each netted 18 points.
UConn advances to face No. 7 Duke, which beat No. 2 seed Ohio State on Sunday.
–Field Level Media