AP Photo/Jessica Hill
UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers made her long-awaited return to the court Friday in a 93-38 home win over St. John’s.
Bueckers came off the bench and scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in 12 minutes. She added two rebounds and one assist on a turnover-free night.
The 2021 national consensus player of the year suffered an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear to her left knee against Notre Dame on Dec. 5.
Prior to her injury, the guard averaged 21.2 points on 56.3 percent shooting, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 36.2 minutes over six games.
On Friday, Bueckers substituted in with 3:41 left in the first quarter. She closed the frame with a buzzer-beating shot.
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
.<a href=”https://twitter.com/paigebueckers1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@paigebueckers1</a> gets her first bucket since December 5th and it was a buzzer beater<br><br>Tough. ???? <br><br>(via <a href=”https://twitter.com/UConnWBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@UConnWBB</a>)<a href=”https://t.co/zNPW7JRNje”>pic.twitter.com/zNPW7JRNje</a>
She played four more minutes in the second quarter and found Aaliyah Edwards with a smooth bounce pass for two:
Buckers later hit a running one-hander with 20 seconds remaining in the half:
She checked back in with 4:56 left in the third quarter and kept making an impact, including with this transition bucket off a pass from Dorka Juhasz:
Bueckers played the remainder of the third quarter before sitting out the fourth.
The No. 7 Huskies improved to 21-5 (15-1 Big East) with the victory.
Freshman guard Azzi Fudd scored 19 points (5-of-7 three-point shooting), and Edwards added 16 points and seven rebounds. Evina Westbrook didn’t take a shot, but she didn’t need to score to make an impact en route to 10 assists and seven boards.
The Huskies will play Providence at home Sunday before the Big East tournament begins March 4 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. UConn will be the No. 1 seed.
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