Paige Bueckers became the first UCONN player to reach the 40-point mark in the NCAA tournament to lead the Huskies to an 82-59 win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2025 Women’s NCAA Sweet 16. The likely No.1 overall pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft was not only excellent with the scoring in this game, but also contributed with six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks at the guard position. This was one of the most efficient performances ever for Bueckers in this game to get to 40 points. Let’s look at the performance of Bueckers in detail.
Bueckers’ Efficiency Was Exceptional
On Saturday afternoon, Bueckers was 16-for-27 from the field and 6-for-8 from the 3-point line in this game for the Huskies against the Sooners. The fifth-year senior continues to show how electric she can be as a scorer and why people were touting her to be the next greatest thing in women’s college basketball before the phenomenon that Caitlin Clark became over her career at Iowa.
This game proved that if Bueckers is not the No.1 pick in the WNBA Draft, I will be shocked because she showed how much composure and poise she has in her game to get whatever shot that she wants at any time that she wants, especially late in this game. Bueckers joins Clark and Kelsey Mitchell as the only women to have 40 points, five rebounds, and 5+3PM in an NCAA Tournament game.
Paige Bueckers is by far the best player left in this tournament after the injury to Juju Watkins, and this game is Exhibit A of that point. So watch out for the rest of the field because the trophy will return to Storrs, Connecticut if she keeps on playing like this.
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