Skip to content

Edwards, Bueckers propel No. 1 UConn women past Butler

Benjamin Solomon / Getty Images Sport / Getty

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Aaliyah Edwards had 24 points and 14 rebounds and Paige Bueckers added 20 points and 14 assists as No. 1 Connecticut routed Butler 97-68 Saturday.

Edwards made all of her shots — nine field goals, six free throws — until missing her last try from in close with 1:25 left.

Bueckers, a freshman who led UConn in scoring, assists, steals, and 3-point percentage entering the game, helped the Huskies break away from a 29-all tie in the second quarter.

Evina Westbrook added 16 points, Christyn Williams 15, and Oliva Nelson-Ododa 11 for UConn (20-1, 17-0 Big East). The Huskies shot 51.4 percent overall and held a 49-25 edge in rebounds.

Genesis Parker scored 18 points for Butler (2-16, 2-15), which lost to UConn by 68 points on Jan. 19. Okako Adika had 14 and Upe Atosu 13 for the Bulldogs.

A layup by Edwards gave UConn the lead for good at 31-29. That started a 24-10 advantage for the rest of the second quarter that gave the Huskies a 53-39 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs were able to stay close by hitting 10 of 21 3-pointers in the first half.

BIG PICTURE

Connecticut: The Huskies, who have already clinched the regular-season title, continue to fine tune for their first Big East Tournament since 2013. UConn, a conference member from 1982-2013, returned to the Big East this year.

Butler: After beating visiting Xavier on Monday, UConn was too much for the Bulldogs. It was much better showing, however, than the 103-35 pounding the Bulldogs took Jan. 19 at UConn.

UP NEXT: UConn will take a 10-game winning streak into its final regular-season game Monday against visiting Marquette.

Butler closes its regular season Monday at No. 24 DePaul.

___

More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox