Paige Bueckers on Title Game Loss: 'At UConn, It's National Championship or Nothing'

The UConn Huskies fell short in the NCAA national title game on Sunday at Target Center in Minneapolis, falling 64-49 to the South Carolina Gamecocks, and Paige Bueckers told reporters after the loss that her team is not only disappointed but also frustrated by the outcome.

"At UConn, it's national championship or nothing," Bueckers said. "Obviously upset, frustrated, disappointed. Just wish things could've gone different for our seniors."

UConn was outplayed by South Carolina from the beginning. The Gamecocks outscored the Huskies 22-8 in the first quarter and outrebounded them 12-3, including 7-0 offensively.

UConn cut into South Carolina's lead with a 19-point second quarter, but the Huskies were a step behind all night.

Bueckers, the heart and soul of the Huskies, finished with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in the loss and was the best player on the court for Geno Auriemma's squad.

While Bueckers took a step backward in terms of output, the sophomore guard still had an impressive second season with the Huskies, averaging 14.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 55.0 percent from the floor and 35.4 percent from deep.

She noted the Huskies will use Sunday's loss as motivation to win the title next year.

"Obviously, every loss is hard to swallow and hard to watch again and go through again," Bueckers said. "You just want to make sure and do everything that you can in the offseason to prevent that from happening again."

The Huskies haven't won the national title since 2016, which marked Auriemma's 11th championship as head coach. If UConn can make it back to the championship game in 2023, Auriemma will hope to improve his title game record to 12-1.