Bueckers, Edwards lead UConn over Creighton
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 24 points, Aaliyah Edwards added 20 and No. 15 UConn beat No. 21 Creighton 73-53 on Monday afternoon to secure at least a share of the Big East regular-season championship and the top seed in the conference tournament.
Ashlynn Shade added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies (23-5, 15-0), who gave coach Geno Auriemma win No. 1,203, moving him past former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and into second on the all-time wins list behind Stanford's Tara VanDerveer (1,209).
Lauren Jensen had 20 points and Morgan Maly scored 16 for Creighton (21-4, 12-3), which saw its 11-game winning streak snapped.
The teams were tied at halftime and Creighton led by five points after a 13-0 run that stretched from the second into the third quarter.
But UConn went on a 17-0 run from there, taking its first double-digit lead at 47-36 after a jumper from the foul line by Edwards.
The Huskies led 58-41 after three quarters.
UConn had led by as many as eight points in the first half, the last time after a steal and three-point play by Bueckers, which put the Huskies up 31-23.
But Creighton scored the final eight points of the half, helped by a technical foul on Auriemma, who became incensed after Edwards was knocked to the floor with no call.
BIG PICTURE
Creighton's last loss came to UConn in Omaha, a 94-50 blowout on Jan. 3. The Bluejays hit just 4 of 24 shots from 3-point range in that one. They were 6 of 30 from behind the arc on Monday.
UConn: The regular-season conference title is the 30th for the Huskies, who have won 11 straight dating to their days in the American Athletic Conference.
UP NEXT
Creighton: The Bluejays return home to face Villanova on Saturday
UConn: The Huskies head to Chicago to face DePaul on Sunday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here ___ AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball (edited)