PORTLAND — There was a UConn fan in the stands at Moda Center on Saturday night who pulled her long, blond hair back into a ponytail with braids in the front, just like UConn star guard Paige Bueckers.
She held up a sign: “Paige, am I doing this right?” and high-fived Bueckers as she ran from the UConn bench back to the locker room.
These days, everyone wants to be like Bueckers, who again starred for the No. 3 Huskies in a 53-45 win against No. 7 Duke on Saturday night that now advances the Huskies to their 22nd Elite 8 in the past 24 NCAA Tournaments. Bueckers scored 24 of her team’s 53 points on a night when the Huskies were particularly short-handed after forward Aaliyah Edwards picked up her fourth foul midway through the third quarter. UConn played just six players all night, but shot 40 percent from the field, compared to Duke’s 33-percent mark, and scored 23 points off 23 Duke turnovers — the difference in the game.
“I don’t know that I have one,” coach Geno Auriemma said, asked for an opening statement in the postgame newsconference.
Duke trailed 23-13 at the half after offense was hard to come by in the first two quarters. The Blue Devils went down by as many 20 points late in the third quarter, when UConn took a 42-22 lead.
“I think it was just…
