UConn’s eight-game winning streak came to an end as Notre Dame emerged victorious in Thursday night’s 79-68 showdown. While Notre Dame delivered a well-rounded team performance led by Hannah Hidalgo, UConn appeared out of sync, relying heavily on Paige Bueckers, who contributed 25 points. Following the loss, head coach Geno Auriemma addressed the team’s inefficiency, highlighting the imbalance that left Bueckers shouldering most of the pressure.

After the game, Auriemma addressed the media, shedding light on the challenges Paige Bueckers faces when carrying the team’s burden alone. “You got to take some of the pressure off of Paige, you know? And sometimes, she’s her worst enemy because she over penetrate. It’s the to try to get something in traffic and get to the free-throw line and blah blah blah. And I think she, you know, she makes it a little bit harder on herself,” the head coach told the media.

Paige Bueckers put up a strong showing with 25 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Auriemma also added, “We need a lot of contributions and Paige is gonna try and carry the team by herself when she thinks there aren’t a lot of those contributions. And that’s not good for her. And that’s not good for us.”

Despite her efforts, Bueckers struggled from three-point range, missing all four attempts, and shot 11-of-20 from the field. Sarah Strong was UConn’s next top scorer, finishing with 14 points, 11 fewer than Bueckers. Beyond them, only Kaitlyn Chen and KK Arnold reached double digits, while three UConn players failed to score at all. Ashlynn Shade was included in the starting five and clocked 21 minutes, yet couldn’t score any points.

Therefore, Auriemma’s call for greater contributions from the team to alleviate the pressure on Bueckers is quite justified. Well, the head coach has long expressed concerns about this weakness in the roster, which often leaves Bueckers bearing the load in high-pressure moments.

Geno Auriemma’s challenge to balance UConn’s roster and relieve pressure on Paige Bueckers

“I think — the — I have to make a decision a lot of times is the inconsistency because of inexperience. They just haven’t been in those situations enough times or the inconsistency because mentally you know we need to learn how to focus better we need to learn how to concentrate on exactly what it is,”  Auriemma had said just few days before the season kicked off.

The Huskies entered this season with a roster featuring four freshmen and five sophomores, many of whom have had limited playing experience. With 14 players in total, nearly two-thirds of the team remains untested in high-pressure scenarios. Addressing this, the head coach had remarked, “The inexperience is something we can’t do anything about.”

While having Paige Bueckers leading the team is a significant advantage, the lack of experience among her teammates could increase the pressure on her, potentially forcing her to shoulder a heavier burden than expected.

UConn’s loss to Notre Dame highlights the challenges of relying heavily on Paige Bueckers amidst an inexperienced roster. It would be interesting to see how Auriemma will address team inefficiencies which could alleviate pressure from Bueckers. The UConn will face Georgetown on December 15, Sunday.