Paige Bueckers returns from injury as UConn cruises past St. John's

Bueckers missed 19 games after suffering an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear in the Huskies' win over Notre Dame back on Dec. 5. She underwent surgery a few days later and was initially ruled out for six to eight weeks.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma said earlier in the week that Bueckers was unlikely to return during the regular season, but that clearly is not the case. She checked in once the Huskies had already claimed a large lead and played just 13 minutes, so it's possible Auriemma saw it as an opportunity to ease Bueckers back into the swing of things.

She finished with eight points, two rebounds and an assist on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. Her first bucket didn't spare any dramatics, as it came right at the end of the first quarter on a buzzer-beating jumper from just within the free-throw line.

Bueckers burst onto the scene last season as a freshman, logging averages of 20 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game in addition to 2.3 steals and 46.4 percent shooting from deep per night. In her six appearances this year before the injury, she averaged 21.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.7 steals per game.