South Dakota State forward Brooklyn Meyer fights her way through two UConn defenders during Monday’s NCAA tournament second round play at Gampel Pavilion. Photo by Steve Zarrella/Sportspage Magazine
The No. 2 seed UConn Huskies (32-3) defeated the No. 10 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 91-57 in the second round game of the NCAA tournament at Gampel Pavilion on Monday night.
Unlike Saturday’s first round game when the Huskies dominated from early in the contest, the Huskies and the Jackrabbits combined to miss the first three shots before South Dakota State guard Madison Mathiowetz connected on a three-pointer for the game’s first score.
Neither team scored in the next three minutes as both teams went 0-8 from the field during that span until UConn forward Sarah Strong made a layup with 6:24 remaining in the opening quarter to make it a 3-2 game.
South Dakota State went on a 7-2 run with baskets from guard Paige Meyer and forward Brooklyn Meyer, plus another three pointer from Mathiowetz, against a layup by UConn guard Azzi Fudd. It was 10-4 in favor of the Jackrabbits with 5:08 left in the opening frame, and it would be the largest lead of the night for the South Dakotans.
Enter UConn guard KK Arnold. Literally.
Arnold entered the game during the clock stoppage at the 4:45 mark and made an immediate impact on UConn’s defense. They forced the Jackrabbits to miss the next three shots and allow the Huskies to get back into the game. Fudd, along with UConn guard Paige Bueckers, each scored two free throws, while Strong converted one of her two free throw attempts in a 5-2 run. It would have been 5-0 except South Dakota State guard Haleigh Timmer managed to get a shot to drop, barely beating the shot clock buzzer. The Jackrabbits held a 12-9 lead with 2:11 in the first quarter.
UConn Husky guard Paige Bueckers shoots over the outstretched arms of Jackrabbits guard Madison Mathiowetz as forward Mesa Byom looks on during Monday’s NCAA Second Round game at Gampel Pavilion. Photo by Steve Zarrella/Sportspage Magazine
The remainder of the quarter was all Paige. South Dakota State’s Paige Meyer was able to score a layup to give them their final lead of the game, 14-13 with 55 seconds left in the quarter, while Paige Bueckers scored the next 10 points for the Huskies including a buzzer beating three-pointer as the quarter expired.
UConn led 19-14 at the quarter break despite starting the game going 0-7 from the field. The Jackrabbits scored eight of their 14 first quarter points in the paint.
The Paige vs Paige contest continued through the beginning of the second quarter as Bueckers made a jumper, answered by a layup from Meyer. UConn forward Ice Brady fouled Paige Meyer, who made both free throws. UConn now led 21-18 with 8:24 left until halftime.
However, the Huskies defense kicked back in again like rabid dogs as they repelled the Jackrabbits for the remainder of the quarter. Over the next 6:29, the Jackrabbits made two shots (guard Katie Vasecka layup on an inbound pass; and a jump shot by forward Kallie Theisen), missed four shots, turned the ball over six times, and called two timeouts.
During that same stretch, the Huskies went wild. Brady made a jump shot. Fudd scored on a reverse layup. Guard Ashlynn Shade nailed a three-pointer. Strong scored eight points and Bueckers added seven more points. They only missed one shot but committed no turnovers during that stretch as the Huskies pounded out a 22-4 run to take a 43-22 lead with 1:55 left in the half.
The Jackrabbits finished out the quarter on a 6-0 run of their own with a layup and free throw by Theisen and a three-pointer by Timmer. UConn led 43-28 at the half as Bueckers scored 21 points, the most points that she had scored in any NCAA tournament game in her collegiate career.
A 15-point halftime deficit is not impossible to overcome but against a team like UConn, it can be difficult. Bueckers and Strong scored the first two buckets in the second half to give the Huskies four more points, but Brooklyn Meyer scored on a layup, and forward Mesa Byom hit a three-pointer to make the score 47-33 in favor of UConn with 7:43 left in the third quarter.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits guard Paige Meyer tries to avoid the trap set by UConn Huskies guards Ashlynn Shade (12) and KK Arnold (2) during Monday’s second round NCAA Tournament game at Gampel Pavilion. Photo by Steve Zarrella/Sportspage Magazine
The wheels came off the South Dakota State wagon over the next three minutes. Five turnovers, three fouls and two missed shots for the Jackrabbits compared to seven points from Bueckers, a three points from guard Kaitlyn Chen, and layups from Brady and Strong, and suddenly the Huskies broke the game wide open. The 14-0 run extended the UConn lead to 61-33, an 18-point margin with 4:11 left to play in the third quarter.
A Paige Meyer three-pointer broke the UConn run, but the Huskies picked back up where they left off from the previous possession. They simply started another run. Bueckers and Arnold made layups. Chen hit a jump shot. Fudd added two jump shots – one of which was a three-pointer – and UConn closed out the quarter on an 11-0 run. Combining the two runs together, the Jackrabbits were outscored 25-3 in the last 7:43 of the third quarter. UConn led 72-36 as the fourth quarter arrived.
Give credit to the Jackrabbits for trying to stay in the game in the fourth quarter. They fought back with tremendous poise despite having to make up a 36-point deficit in ten minutes of play. Paige Meyer hit a jump shot but it was answered by a three-pointer by Fudd. Byom answered Fudd’s three-pointer with one of her own, but Chen’s jumper negated Meyer’s. Ten points were scored in the first minute of play but the differential remained the same.
UConn’s Aubrey Griffin scored on back-to-back layups to push the Huskies to a 40-point lead, 81-41 with 7:37 left on the clock.
The Jackrabbits continued to play hard even though the shots weren’t falling. Guard Emilee Fox scored her only basket, a layup, with just under six minutes left to play. Meyer made her finial basket, a three-pointer, half a minute later. Hilary Behrens made a three-pointer and a free throw (to go with a missed free throw attempt), to give her four points in three minutes of play. Guard Katie Vasecka scored five of her seven points late in the fourth quarter. Guard Jenna Hopp’s layup with 44 seconds left was the final South Dakota State basket of the game.
Meanwhile, UConn guard Paige Bueckers was taken out of the game with 3:38 remaining, having scored 34 points, which tied a career high, in what might possibly be her final game at Gampel Pavilion. Beckers is also only the third UConn player, behind only Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore, to score more than 2,000 points, grab 500 rebounds and dish 500 assists, in UConn’s team history.
The game’s final score came down to a KK Arnold layup with 15 seconds remaining to give UConn the 91-57 victory.
UConn Husky forward Sarah Strong muscles past South Dakota State Jackrabbit forward Mesa Byom during Monday’s NCAA Tournament Round 2 game at Gampel Pavilion. Photo by Steve Zarrella/Sportspage Magazine
UConn went 38-for-66 (57.58 percent) from the field; 8-for-18 (44.44 percent) from three-point range; and 7-for-10 (70.00 percent) from the free throw line. They forced 25 Jackrabbit turnovers and scored 35 points off turnovers.
“I hope that it was pretty evident, certainly by the way the crowd reacted at the beginning of the game the atmosphere was pretty amazing. It’s kind of what I want in an NCAA Tournament game and I think our fans proved once again why they are who they are and why we’re viewed as how we’re viewed and the energy in the building was just incredible,” said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. “I think we changed it defensively and that kind of turned the tide and we just, you know, thought were outstanding and Paige [Bueckers] as Paige and it’s a great way to finish your career at home. There’s no better way than with a game like that, a performance like that.”
South Dakota State shot 21-for-51 (41.18 percent) from the field; 9-for-22 (40.91 percent) from three-point range; and 6-for-9 (66.67 percent) from the charity stripe.
“I thought they played really well. Certainly they’re playing at a high, high, high, high level. At times we were able to hang in there and other times we weren’t. I thought their defensive pressure just got us out of rhythm and out of sync and they were able to score quite a bit in transition and quite a bit off our turnovers. But there were times in there where I was really pleased with how we played and I think our players would feel the same way,” said South Dakota State head coach Aaron Johnston.
“Everything about it is something that I know I’m really proud of. I mentioned it the other day, there’s no place I would rather be today and I still fellow that way now. I wish it was a different outcome but still to be able to compete on this stage with a great group of young women is exactly where I think we all want to be. I’m proud of them,” Johnston added.
The Huskies were led by 34 points from Paige Bueckers. Azzi Fudd contributed 17 points, while Sarah Strong pitched in for 15 points, but led all rebounders with seven. Strong and KK Arnold led UConn with five assists each.
“I haven’t had a wave or rush of emotions hit me yet because we’re so locked in and focused on the task at hand and being present in the moment and never look at it — we didn’t look at it as our last game as Gampel. We looked at it as the second round NCAA Tournament game that we’re trying to win and trying to keep advancing,” said Bueckers.
“I’m sure we’ll have more time to reflect on it as the season, when the season is over but right now we’re super focused on the present but obviously just extremely grateful and you can’t really put into words how much this place has meant to me. I’m forever indebted and it’s become my second home,” she added.
The Jackrabbits were led by 16 points from Paige Meyer. Brooklyn Meyer led South Dakota State with six rebounds and four assists in those respective categories.
“We came out with a good start. I think their pressure kind of got to us that second quarter, just some turnovers, too, that kind of led to some easy baskets for them. Yeah, they’re a really great team. Wish we could have done some things a little differently but still proud of the effort that the team had out there,” said Meyer. “Being a Jackrabbit has been the best thing. Playing the last game with them all sunk in there. I just love this group so much. It’s been a really special year and I’m just really going to miss being a Jackrabbit.”
The Huskies (33-3) will now head to Spokane Arena in Spokane, Wash., for the Spokane 4 regional against the No. 3 seed Oklahoma Sooners (27-7) on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. ET. The Sooners knocked off the No. 6 seed Iowa Hawkeyes 96-62 to advance to the regional round.
