UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma holds his team to a high standard, especially star guard Paige Buckers.
During the first half of Saturday’s NCAA Tournament matchup against the No. 3-seeded Oklahoma Sooners, Auriemma didn’t like what he was seeing from his No. 2-seeded Huskies, who started the second quarter with a five-point lead but ultimately trailed by as many as six before settling into a 36-32 halftime deficit.
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From Auriemma’s point of view, the root issue for UConn’s struggles was the poor defense Bueckers was playing while defending Oklahoma’s Payton Verhulst, who went off for 13 second-quarter points, including three 3-pointers.
UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma talks with guard Paige Bueckers during a break in the first quarter.David Butler II-Imagn Images
As Verhulst was picking UConn apart, Auriemma did something drastic — he benched Bueckers, the top player in the country and projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, and put her on blast on the sideline for her poor defensive performance, according to ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
“Geno Auriemma has taken Paige Bueckers out of the game right now,” Rowe said during the broadcast. “He is furious with her about the defense that she’s playing. She’s been great offensively but she’s really giving up plays. He challenged her during that last timeout. She’s sitting here and he’s just like, ‘What the heck, Paige?’ He’s mad at her right now for her defensive [miscues].”
Fortunately for UConn and Auriemma, whatever message he sent to her during his rant seemed to resonate.
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Verhulst was limited to just three points in the second half, while Bueckers chipped in 29 points and finished with a game-high 40 along with six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks and UConn cruised to an 82-59 win.
It was Bueckers’ first 40-point game of her career, and it was the second straight NCAA Tournament game she scored 30 or more points. The star senior is averaging 28.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 steals per game in three NCAA Tournament appearances.
The win advances the Huskies to their 18th Elite Eight appearance in the last 19 seasons.
