After missing 19 games, Bueckers scores eight points in a win over St. John's. The time is 1:05.
The reigning national player of the year made her return to the court on Friday night after missing nearly three months with a left knee injury.
The sophomore guard received a standing ovation from the crowd when she checked in at the 3:41 mark of the first quarter.
Bueckers said after Friday's game that he was happy to be on a minutes restriction. To see my name in a box score with minutes to go is amazing to me, I have been back in this position before.
Bueckers had missed 19 games due to injuries, the most recent of which was a 73-54 win over Notre Dame. She had surgery to repair the injury.
Bueckers made her first basket since December when she came off the bench on Friday. With the clock winding down at the end of the first quarter, Bueckers shook her defender and nearly lost the ball before collecting it and sinking an elbow jumper at the buzzer. After scoring in front of the student section, Bueckers yelled and raised her hands to make them proud.
She said that the first basket wouldn't be her if it wasn't something extra.
The star guard finished with eight points on 4-for-5 shooting in 12 minutes, but sat the entire fourth quarter. She played within herself, but looked more and more comfortable as the game went on, creating her own shot and running in transition.
Geno Auriemma said in a courtside interview that they tried to get her 15 minutes. We will see how she feels tomorrow. Hopefully we can do the same thing on Sunday.
Before the Big East tournament, the University of Connecticut has one more regular-season game.
In the six games she played this season, Bueckers averaged a team-best 21.2 points, 6.2 assists, 5.5 rebound and 2.7 steals. She was in the lineup for the first five games of the year, but the team went 15-4 without her.
The report was contributed to by the Associated Press.
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