HARTFORD, Conn. — With just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter of Saturday’s top-10 matchup between No. 4 UConn and No. 7 USC, a video aired on the XL Center jumbotron showing one of the highlights of Paige Bueckers’ career.
The clip was of the final seconds of the Huskies’ Elite Eight victory over the Trojans in last year’s NCAA Tournament. It was a reminder of what was — an evening of net-cutting, locker room water-dousing, and a 23rd Final Four berth for the mighty Huskies. Bueckers said at the time it was “one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve ever felt in my life.”
Saturday’s rematch between the Huskies and Trojans less than 10 months later had smaller stakes; no banners would be hung after this regular-season contest. But it will still surely be meaningful to both participants, and the atmosphere rivaled that of any March or April affair.
Much to the delight of the road Trojans, it was their star, JuJu Watkins, who led her team over Bueckers in a game featuring two of the nation’s best players. Watkins finished USC’s 72-70 victory with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field while adding six rebounds and five assists.
GO DEEPER
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