STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers' scoring and KK Arnold's defense powered UConn into its 31st consecutive Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA Tournament.
Bueckers matched her career high with 34 points in her final home game before leaving to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd at Gampel Pavilion. Arnold came off the bench to impact the game with defensive pressure, helping second-seeded UConn turn its meeting with No. 10 seed South Dakota State into a 91-57 runaway on Monday night.
“Paige was Paige,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “It was a great way to finish your (home) career. There is no better way than with a game like that, a performance like that.”
Bueckers grabbed a microphone and addressed the adoring crowd before walking off the Gampel floor for the last time. She is expected to be the top pick in the WNBA draft. Before that, she wants to lead UConn to four more victories and the program's record 12th national title.
“I haven’t had a wave or rush of emotions hit me yet because we’re so locked in and focused on the task at hand and being present in the moment,” Bueckers said. “We didn’t look at it as our last game as Gampel. We looked at it as the second-round NCAA Tournament game that we’re trying to win and trying to keep advancing.”
Azzi Fudd scored 17 points and Sarah Strong finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks for the Huskies (33-3), who will face Oklahoma in a regional semifinal in Spokane, Washington.
Paige Meyer had 16 points for South Dakota State (30-4).
Brooklyn Meyer, the Jackrabbits’ leading scorer who is not related to Paige Meyer, went down with an ankle injury in 30.9 seconds left in the first half and had to be helped to the locker room. She returned for the second half and finished with four points in 28 minutes.
The Jackrabbits led by six points twice in the first quarter behind the strong play of Paige Meyer, the program's single-season leader in assists. UConn responded by bringing in Arnold, whose ball pressure helped stifle the South Dakota State offense.
“We were just trying to find her weak points and creating havoc,” said Arnold, who finished with six points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in 19 minutes. “We were trying to limit her shots. It was very fun because my defense creates a lot of (opportunities). I get so excited.”
Bueckers took care of the rest. The All-America guard scored UConn’s last 10 points of the first quarter, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Bueckers had seven points in a 16-2 run in the second quarter to push the lead to 21. UConn made 10 shots in a row at one point in the second quarter and eight in a row in the third quarter.
The landscape of the Spokane 4 Region changed Monday night when star JuJu Watkins of top-seeded Southern California went down with a right knee injury in the first quarter against Mississippi State in Los Angeles. UConn beat USC in a regional final last year, and the teams would get a rematch if the seeding holds.
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UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts in the second half of a game against South Dakota State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
WADI AD-DAWASIR, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saood Variawa snatched stage eight from South African compatriot Henk Lategan by three seconds after an impressive comeback drive in the Dakar Rally on Monday.
Variawa, only 20 and driving in his third Dakar, started 26th and was in sixth place with 100 kilometers to go in the 483-kilometer loop outside Wadi ad-Dawasir. Then he was third after 414 and second after 448.
For the second straight day Lategan had a stage win ripped from his grasp. On Sunday his Toyota's rear damper broke 30 kilometers from the finish.
Meanwhile, Luciano Benavides became the overall motorbike leader for the first time in his ninth Dakar after winning a second straight stage and gobbling up all 7 1/2 minutes in bonus time for faultlessly opening the way.
Benavides won the stage by 4:50 over KTM teammate and defending champion Daniel Sanders and replaced Sanders atop the overall by 10 seconds going into the two-day marathon stage.
Monday's stage, the longest of the race, had a cocktail of dunes, valleys and rocks but navigation was easier than expected and it turned into a fast, wind-whipped special.
The top five cars — featuring main title contenders Lategan, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mattias Ekström — were less than a minute apart for the first 400 kilometers until Al-Attiyah's navigation error suddenly dropped him two minutes behind.
Thanks to starting nearly an hour after the opener, Ekström, Variawa sneaked through for his second career stage win. The first last year at 19 made him the youngest stage winner in Dakar history.
Variawa, following his father Shameer as a Dakar racer, suffered tire, navigation and mechanical problems on Sunday but got his Toyota back up to 13th overall with the aim of a maiden top-10 finish.
Al-Attiyah's Dacia got about 45 seconds back in the closing section to finish fifth and limit his time losses to remain the overall leader by four minutes over Ekström, whose Ford was third on the stage, and six minutes over Lategan.
Nani Roma fell from third to fourth, 9 1/2 minutes back, and Ford teammate Carlos Sainz was another minute behind. It's the closest top five after eight stages in 26 years.
The motorbikes of Sanders and Ricky Brabec were quicker in real time but the seven-plus minutes in time bonuses for opening the dusty track helped Benavides win by the same margin he did on Sunday, nearly five minutes.
“These last two stages were a little bit more fast and in these conditions I can read the roadbook super, super good and make good decisions,” Benavides said.
He has eight career motorbike stage wins, three behind his brother Kevin, the champion in 2021 and 2023.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Rider Tosha Schareina competes during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Rider Ricky Brabec competes during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz compete with riders David Brock, bottom right, and Fernando Dominguez, top left, during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Romain Dumas and co-driver Alex Winocq compete with riders David Brock, right, and Fernando Dominguez, in the background, during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Saood Variawa and co-driver Francois Cazalet compete during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
