Aaliyah Edwards' double-double helps UConn survive Syracuse scare, advance to Sweet 16

UConn coach Geno Auriemma says his team will go as far in the NCAA Tournament as Paige Bueckers will take them.

It will also help if the Huskies freshmen continue playing the way they did Monday.

Bueckers tied her season high with 32 points, freshman Ashlynn Shade added 19 and No. 3 seed UConn held off Syracuse 72-64 to earn a 30th straight trip to the Sweet 16.

It was the All-American's fifth straight game with at least 25 points, and seventh in her last eight games.

"The stats will tell you one thing, you know? The 10 rebounds, six assists and the four steals," Auriemma said. "But it's like when they happen and how they impact the game that's so remarkable."

Paige. Bueckers. <a href="https://t.co/Ej50kulVui">pic.twitter.com/Ej50kulVui</a>

Aaliyah Edwards of Kingston, Ont., finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds and freshman KK Arnold had 10 points including a key 3-pointer late in the game to help seal the win for the Huskies (31-5).

Dyaisha Fair scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half, after hitting just one of seven shots in the first, and Syracuse (24-8) came back from a 12-point first half deficit to pull within two with just under two minutes left.

Freshman Sophie Burrows scored a season-high 18 points and Georgia Wooley had 13 of her 18 in the first half for the Orange.

UConn led by 11 points at halftime and Shade's 3-pointer from the right corner, her fourth of the night, gave the Huskies a 53-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

But after UConn pushed that lead to 10 points, Husky point guard Nika Muhl, who had been guarding Fair, picked up three fouls in 30 seconds and fouled out of the game with UConn up 63-55.

Aaliyah Edwards with the basket out of the timeout! <a