UConn notes: Auriemma said singling out freshmen was understandable, but not fair

Mar. 28—SAN ANTONIO — UConn coach Geno Auriemma called it somewhat "unfair" for freshman luminaries Paige Bueckers of UConn and Caitlin Clark of Iowa to be singled out ahead of Saturday's Sweet 16.

"I think the fact that there was so much hype put on those two kids ... it was not going to be easy on either Caitlin or Paige to play their normal game," Auriemma said after the Huskies advanced to the Elite Eight with a 92-72 win. "Obviously neither of them did, even though both of them played really, really well."

Bueckers said she was "super-excited" by the pregame hoopla, however, not because it involved her but because she knew it might help draw people to watch the NCAA tournament game being televised on ABC.

"I knew everybody hyped it up to be Caitlin vs. Paige but I was so excited for our team because I knew that people were going to come and notice and watch our whole team play," Bueckers said. "I know it's not just me. I know it's everybody.

"I know that a lot of pressure was on me and I knew my teammates were going to have my back. They performed as well as they have all season. They just really stepped up. I know I started off slow, but the upperclassmen ... they just played super well."

Neither of the freshman stars scored until Clark hit a 3-pointer with 1:45 to go in the first quarter. Bueckers followed with a jump shot at the 50-second mark. By then, fellow freshman Aaliyah Edwards had six points, threatening to steal the thunder.

Clark, who came into the game leading the nation in scoring with 26.8 points per game and averaging 7.2 assists, finished with 21 points and five assists, shooting 7-for-21 overall, 4-for-12 from 3-point range as she was guarded by UConn stalwart Christyn Williams.

Bueckers had 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, shooting 7-for-18 overall, 2-for-6 from 3. She unloaded back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter after Iowa had pulled within nine. Bueckers, friends with Clark from their days as AAU players in the Midwest, as well as members of the same gold medal-winning USA basketball teams, came into the game averaging 19.9 points and 6.0 assists.

"She's never going to talk herself up. She's super humble," UConn junior Evina Westbrook said of Bueckers. "She never made this about Paige vs. Caitlin. ... She's able to be young but a huge asset to this team, a huge leader to this team."

Clark, for her part, closed her freshman season with a few more fans, including Auriemma, who pulled her aside following the game. Auriemma marveled at some of the shots Clark hit, even when she was being tightly covered.

"He was pretty much like, 'You're crazy good,' whatnot," Clark said. "Things like that. He's like, 'It's kind of a shame it had to be so much pressure on you and Paige. I could tell you guys were so antsy in the first half,' which I think is kind of true.

"I think we kind of could feel that pressure in a way. I took a few poor shots. I think we both kind of calmed down there in the second half. Obviously it's a lot of pressure for two freshmen. (But) those are the games we want to play in. Those are the games we live for.

"To have (Auriemma) come up and say the things he did, to hear him say that to me really meant something."

A grand for Westbrook

Westbrook scored 739 points during her first two seasons at Tennessee before transferring to UConn. She sat out a year due to NCAA transfer rules before returning to the court this season as a junior captain for the Huskies.

Against Iowa, Westbrook just missed a triple-double, finishing with 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, eclipsing the 1,000-point mark for her career along the way (she now has 1,001). Westbrook, who finished with 1,710 points and averaged 24.8 points per game as a senior at South Salem (Oregon) High School, has been more of an all-around threat at UConn, as well as the conscience of the Huskies as the team's oldest member.

"E is a great player and a great teammate," said UConn's Williams, also a member of the 1,000-point club with 1,341. "She does the dirty work. She goes to the offensive boards, she gets steals, as defensive stopper, as well. It's not all about points with E. She's a great leader off the floor. She's the mom of our team.

"We love E to death. I'm so proud of her for getting her 1,000th point."

Next up

Baylor (28-2), the second seed in the River Walk Region, held off No. 6 Michigan 78-75 in overtime Saturday to earn the right to face UConn in Monday's Elite Eight at the Alamodome.

The teams were scheduled to play a regular-season game Jan. 7 at Baylor, but it was canceled when Baylor coach Kim Mulkey tested positive for COVID.

Mulkey said it matters more that her team advanced to the Elite Eight than who the opponent is, but conceded it shapes up to be a heavyweight matchup.

"It's two programs that have, I think, won the most national championships with their coaches that are currently coaching," Mulkey said. "Obviously Pat Summitt (late Tennessee coach) and what she has done will never be forgotten. But I think (UConn has) 11 and we have three.

"It's two programs that are very proud. I'm not going to outcoach Geno, so our players, they better compete and try to out-play his players."

Quotable

Auriemma, on Bueckers patting him on the backside while she was running down the court late in the game following a 3-pointer by Anna Makurat:

"Both Ben (Kantor), our interim coach, and Jamelle (Elliott, assistant coach) said, 'Listen, put (Makurat) in there, give her a chance because she's going to make two 3s in the next game.' You know what? She did. I think Paige was letting me know. She never passes up an opportunity to let me know when I'm wrong. Trust me when I tell you that."

v.fulkerson@theday.com

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