University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
1-0,0-0Big East
UMass Lowell
0-2,0-0America East
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UMass Lowell | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 23 |
| UConn | 27 | 21 | 14 | 17 | 79 |
No. 3 UConn Opens Season With 79-23 Win
12/12/2020 5:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
STORRS, Conn. – Paige Bueckers notched 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals in her collegiate debut as the No. 3 UConn women's basketball team opened the season with a 79-23 win over UMass Lowell (0-2) Saturday afternoon in Gampel Pavilion.
"You can find out more in a 40-minute game than you can in four months of practice," head coach Geno Auriemma said. "The things we saw today are more telling than what we saw in the last four months. … My expectations were if we played the game, that was meeting my expectations. What did I see that was great, nothing really. What I saw that was good was our players were who they are."
Bueckers' 17 points were the most scored by a freshman in a season opener since Breanna Stewart scored 21 to start the 2012-13 season.
UConn took the court for the first time since March 9, in the final game of the AAC Tournament. The Huskies went 278 days between games.
Junior Olivia Nelson-Ododa (12), junior Christyn Williams (10) and freshman Mir McLean (10) also scored in double digits.
UConn held the River Hawks to single-digits in each quarter, 14.3 shooting percentage from the field and 6.7 percent from three-point range.
The Huskies shot 46.9 percent against UMass Lowell but just 23.1 percent from three.
Six Huskies made their UConn debuts Saturday: Bueckers, McLean, redshirt junior Evina Westbrook and freshmen Aaliyah Edwards, Piath Gabriel and Nika Mühl.
The Huskies return to action and begin BIG EAST Conference play at Seton Hall (2-0) next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The game will air on SNY and 97-9 ESPN.
