Paige Bueckers speeds past injury timeline in UConn's OT thriller

After Paige Bueckers' performance in Monday's regional final, it's worth pondering whether the UConn sophomore might be superhuman. Her coach, Geno Auriemma, said the Minnesota native sometimes thinks she is — and that attitude set the stage for one of the greatest games of her career.

Bueckers had knee surgery Dec. 13 to repair a fracture and a torn meniscus. She didn't return to the lineup until Feb. 25 and played sparingly until the NCAA tournament began. Monday, she scored a game-high 27 points while playing nearly 45 minutes in the Huskies' victory over North Carolina State, with 15 of those points coming in the two overtimes of a 91-87 win.

Auriemma wasn't sure whether Bueckers would return to top form this season. But "Paige thinks she's different,'' he said, and she believed she would recover faster than a typical patient.

"If you'd have asked me two weeks ago, 'Can Paige play 40-some minutes in a double overtime game, against as good a team as we've ever played in this tournament?' I would say, 'No, she can't,' " Auriemma said. "But she got better and better as the game went on. She just happens to do things that are difficult to explain.''

Another Minnesota connection

Louisville coach Jeff Walz was an assistant for Brenda Oldfield – now Brenda Frese – for the Gophers women's team during the 2001-02 season. This was the Lindsay Whalen/Janel McCarville era. The Gophers, 8-20 the year before, went 22-8, qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the first time in eight seasons.

"That one season that we had up there at Minnesota was one of the most remarkable years that I've been a part of in women's basketball," Walz said.

One of his strongest memories? The Gophers started that season playing in the Pavilion. There was a "Pack the Pav'' promotion slated for a Jan. 27 game with Indiana. But a pipe froze, broke, then flooded the Pavilion, forcing the game to be moved to Williams Arena.

A good move. The game drew 11,389 fans – then the biggest in program history. Perhaps dazed by the crowd, the Gophers started the game missing 13 of their first 20 shots before settling down and winning.

Minnesota never played in the Pavilion again. Oldfield left for Maryland after that one season in Minnesota, taking Walz with her.

"It was an awesome experience, and I'm looking forward to getting back up there,'' Walz said.

VanDerveer's Ukraine effort

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer cherished her experience coaching the U.S. national team in Ukraine 26 years ago, so she wanted to help the people of the country right now in a time of major crisis.

The Hall of Famer pledged $10 for every three-point shot made during the NCAA tournament this year toward humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

VanDerveer, who encouraged other coaches, athletes and media to join the cause, felt compelled to assist the people of Ukraine following the invasion of Russian armed forces over the past month. She's donated nearly $7,500 to Taras3ptchallenge.com.

"We're aware of the world that we live in," VanDerveer said during a video conference call Tuesday. "And what's happening in Ukraine is so heartbreaking."

Power of the portal

Louisville has been buoyed by a pair of newcomers, forward Emily Engstler and guard Chelsie Hall, who transferred to Louisville from Syracuse and Vanderbilt a year ago. They were especially key in Monday night's win over Michigan, when Engstler's 16 rebounds and six steals and Hall's 15 points helped punch a ticket to the Final Four. The NCAA's transfer portal, and the rule change eliminating the one-year waiting period, is the future, Walz said.

"We were very fortunate with Emily, and having played against her for three years, I knew what she could do," Walz said, adding that Hall "has been huge for us. She had an unbelievable first half [Monday] night, and it's part of what's going to take place from here on out."