Follow UConn vs. South Dakota State women’s basketball live updates, score, highlights and analysis from their second-round matchup in March Madness.
Players in March Madness to watch before the WNBA draft
Mackenzie Salmon and Meghan Hall give a guide on what players to look out for in the March Madness tournament before the WNBA draft.
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Geno Auriemma, Paige Bueckers and the No. 2 UConn women’s basketball team are playing No. 10 South Dakota State in the second round of Women’s March Madness right now with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.
USA TODAY Sports is bringing you live updates, scores, highlights and analysis throughout the game. Follow along.
Watch UConn vs. South Dakota State on Fubo (free trial)
UConn’s Sarah Strong and Paige Bueckers picked up in the third quarter where the left off in the second: Strong made a layup and Bueckers made a 3. Bueckers then assisted Kaitlyn Chen on a 3 to give UConn a 53-33 lead with about 6:30 left in the frame.
After igniting UConn to open the game, scoring 10 straight points, Paige Bueckers opened her second half shooting with a 3-pointer. She has 26 on 10-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-5 from.
After a bit of a slow start in the first quarter, the Huskies surged to a 43-28 halftime lead. Paige Bueckers recorded 21 points, Azzi Fudd had six and Sarah Strong had 11 through two periods. Paige Meyer led South Dakota State scorers with eight points.
The Jackrabbits are led by head coach Aaron Johnston, junior forward Brooklyn Meyer and senior point guard Paige Meyer. Johnston has been at the helm since 1999. Here is the full Jackrabbits’ roster.
In case you need a reminder, Geno Auriemma is a winner. The 2025 NCAA women’s tournament is a festive time in college basketball and one of the game’s greatest celebrated a birthday this week. Auriemma, head coach of No. 2 UConn in his 40th season, turned 71.
The Huskies’ X account posted a photo with the 11-time national champion coach flexing his rings. Auriemma, who has been at the helm since 1985, won his first national title in 1995 and last won one in 2016.
UConn vs. SDSU is being played at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn.
The UConn guard is 6 feet tall.
She is 23 years old.
UConn’s Azzi Fudd turned in a nice reverse layup with about 5:27 left in the first half. She has six points so far.
UConn freshman forward Sarah Strong has 11 points against SDSU with about 2 minutes left in the first half. She averages 16.1 points per game to go along with 3.5 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.7 blocks per game.
Paige Bueckers and the Huskies trailed early before Bueckers went on her on mini-run, giving UConn a 19-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. Bueckers had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the opening frame.
UConn star Paige Bueckers made a pair of free throws with less than 3 minutes left in the first quarter for her first points of the game against South Dakota State. Bueckers went on to score 10 straight points for the Huskies to give them their first lead of the game.
South Dakota State’s Madison Mathiowetz opened the scoring with a pair of 3-pointers bookending a layup by UConn’s Sarah Strong. Azzi Fudd has chipped in 4 points early.
What time is UConn women’s basketball game today?
The game tipped off at 8 p.m. ET.
- TV channel: ESPN
- Streaming: ESPN app, Fubo
Is Paige Bueckers entering WNBA draft?
The 2025 WNBA draft isn’t called the Paige Bueckers sweepstakes for nothing. Bueckers burst onto the scene in 2021 with a breakout freshman campaign that earned her AP Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year honors. Although a string of injuries forced Bueckers to miss significant time, including the entire 2022-23 season with an ACL tear, the fifth-year senior guard has returned to form and is looking to lead the Huskies to the Final Four for the fourth time in her career. Bueckers is currently UConn women’s basketball’s sixth all-time leading scorer with 2,301 points and is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick of the draft. — Cydney Henderson
UConn vs. South Dakota prediction
South Dakota State hasn’t lost a game in three months, but that changes when it faces the Huskies, who take care of business and head to the Sweet 16. UConn 80, South Dakota State 56. — Austin Curtright
Lucy Olsen remembers playing against Paige Bueckers in the Big East
Iowa Hawkeye Lucy Olsen remembers her Villanova days and going up again UConn’s Paige Bueckers.
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Azzi Fudd stats
Perhaps no WNBA draft prospect had a better day than UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd. Fudd, who has yet to officially declare for the 2025 draft, made an emphatic case to move up the draft board into the first round as the No. 2 seed Huskies routed the No. 15 seed Arkansas State Red Wolves in a lopsided 103-34 win.
By halftime, Fudd already had a mind-blowing 21 points, seven assists, five steals and two blocks. She ended her day with 27 points, seven assists, six steals and two blocks, leading the charge for a Huskies team with three players who scored 20 or more points, including star freshman forward Sarah Strong. — Jenna Ortiz
Jana El Alfy is fasting during Ramadan, and Paige Bueckers is cooking her breakfast
It turns out the saying, “Let Paige Bueckers cook,” has an entirely different meaning during March Madness. The UConn women’s basketball star has taken a significant responsibility to assist a teammate off the court during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Bueckers cooks breakfast for teammate Jana El Alfy in the mornings while El Alfy, who is from Cairo, Egypt, fasts during the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament. — Ehsan Kassim
The Huskies are the ninth-highest scoring offense in the country at 81.5 points per game. They shoot 51.09% from the floor, best in the country, and 38% from 3, fifth-best in the country.
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