Future WNBA stars Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards boosted the UConn Huskies to an 86-64 victory over the Jackson State Lady Tigers in the opening round of March Madness.
Bueckers, Edwards, and teammate Ashlynn Shade combined for 74 of UConn’s 86 total points, effectively beating Jackson State on their own. The Lady Tigers mustered a valiant effort against future Hall-of-Fame coach Geno Auriemma, but UConn proved to be too much for them to handle.
Coming into the game, Jackson State held a clear advantage over UConn: health. The Huskies dressed eight players for the game, while the Lady Tigers ran 10 players deep. UConn had been dealing with major injuries to key players throughout the year, so there was hope that Jackson State could wear them out over the course of the 40-minute contest.
Jackson State hung with UConn through the first few minutes of the game, but it quickly got out of hand. After Miya Crump and Ti’lan Boler gave the Lady Tigers a 4-2 lead in the first minute, Jackson State remained scoreless for over seven minutes.
No matter what they put up, the ball refused to go in the basket. One of the announcers aptly described Jackson State’s offense by calling it “anemic.” Some shots were forced, sure, and UConn leaned heavily on their defense as their players found their outside shots, but the Lady Tigers missed a lot of good looks too. They almost went the entire first half without a single three-point make.
While Jackson State struggled, UConn poured in buckets without too much of an issue. They went on a 17-0 run, fueled mostly by Aaliyah Edwards and Paige Bueckers. By the end of the first quarter, the score read 22-8 in the Huskies’ favor.
In the second quarter, the SWAC Champions finally scored at a higher clip, but they still had no idea how to stop UConn’s offense. Head coach Tomekia Reed cycled through a few defensive coverages, but stuck mainly with different variations of zone defenses.
Her strategy sort of worked, allowing her team to lag behind by 12 and 14 points for a bit. During this time, USC transfer Angel Jackson found her shot and made crucial jumpers in an effort to keep her team afloat.
Despite Jackson’s best efforts, the Huskies kept coming. Edwards and Bueckers had 10 and 11 points in the second quarter, respectively. Shade hit a three-pointer to put UConn up by over 20 points for the first time, then multiple assists and a pair of free throws from Bueckers put them up 49-25. At the very end of the half, Jackson State recouped a small amount of momentum as Boler sunk a buzzer-beater three-pointer going into the half.
The second half turned into an extension of the end of the second quarter. UConn maintained a 20+ point lead while Reed continued to search for defensive answers. They came close a few times, but Jackson State never trailed by 30 points.
Paige Bueckers led all players in scoring with 28 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and a block.
Ashlynn Shade had a career-high of 26 points as she was on fire from deep, hitting five three-pointers. Aaliyah Edwards also posted a double-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks and a steal. No other UConn Husky scored more than seven points.
For Jackson State, much of the scoring load fell on Ti’lan Boler’s shoulders. She finished with 25 points (also hitting five three-pointers), three rebounds, one block, and one assist. Angel Jackson was the only other Lady Tiger in double figures with 13 points, four rebounds, and two blocks.
What happened on social media?
Throughout the game, Jackson State and HBCU fans in general battled against UConn fans on social media. Multiple conversations brewed around the validity of Black fans supporting UConn over an HBCU, and the announcers’ unfamiliarity with Jackson State.
UConn advances to the next round and will play the winner of Syracuse and Arizona.
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