Paige Bueckers was injured in no. 7 UConn’s win over Villanova

Paige Buecker scored 15 points before leaving with an injury in UConn’s No. 7. UConn’s 83-52 rout of host Villanova on Sunday.

Bueckers added nine assists for the Huskies (13-2, 4-0 Big East) before going down with 1:17 left in the third quarter following a collision near midcourt. Bueckers went for a loose ball when Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe dove and walked into the All-American’s left knee, bending it back awkwardly.

“She’s pretty good. I mean, it was unfortunate, the kid dove for the ball and I’m sure people saw it. Paige turned her back and it was a weird situation,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said after the win. “It’s funny because we had someone at the scorer’s table ready to check in. But she’ll be fine. She looks good. I’m optimistic, let’s put it that way.”

Bueckers — who tore the ACL in her knee in 2022, an injury that sidelined her for a year — sat on the court for a minute before limping off. She went to the locker room before returning to the bench a few minutes later. She did not return to the floor.

“It’s not the worst we can imagine,” Auriemma said. “So that’s good news considering how awkward it was.”

The game was close early before the Huskies took an eight-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Sarah Strongwho led UConn with 21 points, had 10 of them in the first 10 minutes. UConn extended its lead over Villanova (7-8, 1-2) to 43-26 at the half.

The Wildcats got within 47-34 early in the third quarter before Azzi Fudd scored five straight for UConn during a 7-0 run to put the game away.

The Huskies will host Xavier on Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.