Paige Bueckers' Historic Sweet 16 Performance Dazzles CBB Fans in UConn Win vs. OU

UConn guard Paige Bueckers outscored Oklahoma by herself (29-23) in the second half en route to leading the No. 2 seed Huskies women's basketball team to an 82-59 victory over the No. 3 seed Sooners in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

Bueckers finished the game with a career-high 40 points, including 19 in the fourth quarter and 29 overall in the second half.

The Sooners led 36-32 at halftime after scoring 24 second-quarter points. However, it was all Bueckers from there.

The three-time first-team All-American scored 10 points in the third quarter, when the Huskies outscored the Sooners 27-10 to take a 59-46 lead.

That set the stage for a magical and almost surreal fourth quarter, when Bueckers scored UConn's first 19 points over a 6:18 span. By the time her run was over, UConn led 78-51.

Bueckers shot 16-of-27, including 6-of-8 from three. She added six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Elsewhere in the box score, UConn forward Sarah Strong posted an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double with five assists, while reserve guard Ashlynn Shade added 12 points and three steals off the bench. Oklahoma guard Payton Verhulst led the Sooners with 16 points.

But the story of this game was Bueckers.

She was humble in a postgame interview with ESPN's Holly Rowe, giving much credit to her teammates for the performance.

Still, she was simply tremendous, and her historic efforts were duly noted, including by a pair of ex-Huskies in Breanna Stewart and Aaliyah Edwards.

UConn will now play the winner of the Sweet Sixteen matchup between No. 1 seed USC and No. 5 seed Kansas State. The Huskies will await that victor in an Elite Eight matchup on Monday at 9 p.m. ET in Spokane, Washington, with the winner going to the Final Four.