After tasting defeat from the Fighting Irish last week, the UConn Huskies successfully claimed a 79-44 victory over Georgetown in their Big East opener. Although they did have a slow start in the first quarter, however, they caught on to the game’s pace with their 9-point run in the second and a 14-point run in the third quarter, respectively.

Leading the team, Paige Bueckers put out a 24-point performance while Sarah Strong made a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Moreover, Ashlynn Shade added 9 points to the mix.

Coming back to Bueckers, she made 11-of-16 field goals and 2-of-3 shots from beyond the arc in the game, a mesmerizing feat in its own right. However, having seen it all, head coach Geno Auriemma wasn’t surprised. Rather, he gave out an important message for Bueckers after the game.

In the post-game presser, coach Auriemma did share some insights on her display and resorted that she played the way he wanted her to, “I think she did today what I want her to do more of, just take that little pull-up coming off those screens and handoffs.”

Further, he discussed Bueckers’ performance in UConn’s recent loss to Notre Dame and said, “I thought the other night she was forcing to try to get to the free throw line, so she was taking shots that were really difficult to make and wasn’t getting the calls anyway, so it backfired tremendously,” and added, “I thought today she didn’t over-penetrate and put herself in a problem situation.”

Indeed, she is working on to find a middle path between different roles.

Paige Bueckers finding that perfect balance

Last week, UConn played against Notre Dame and were handed over a 79-68 defeat by the relentless team. Bueckers finished the game with 25 points from 11-of-20 shots from the field. Moreover, she was the only consistent force the Huskies had throughout that evening.

However, she did struggle to find a better flow and not force an offense. Through her time at UConn, Bueckers has always been the one to carry the team in terms of elite scoring. At times, this factor has put a lot of pressure on her, especially last year, when half of the Huskies roster was sidelined with various injuries.

But this year, she does have better supporting players on her side than the last time including Azzi Fudd, Sarah Strong, and Kaitlyn Chen. Having them along has allowed Bueckers to experiment and play off of the ball much more than she did last season.

Only recently she talked about being on-ball the entire time is easier than moving off the ball, as it involves getting people open, screen, cut, and play within the flow of the offense. Hence, her attempt is paying off with UConn having this win in its pocket.