UConn guard Paige Bueckers playing through knee injury in Sweet 16 vs. Indiana

UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers aggravated her left knee in Saturday’s Sweet 16 matchup against the Indiana Hoosiers. The sophomore star exited the game midway through the first quarter and returned to the game at the start of the second.

Bueckers initially suffered the knee injury during the team’s 73-54 victory over Notre Dame on December 5 and would miss the next 19 games for the Huskies. She would make her anticipated return on February 25 during their 93-38 home beatdown of St. John’s. Head coach Geno Auriemma has mostly played it safe with his star guard since, limiting her to under 20 minutes in most games. She got plenty of action in Monday’s 52-47 second-round victory over UCF, logging nine points in 32 minutes.

The No. 2 Huskies went on an 8-0 run when Bueckers initially exited the game and some have already argued that they don’t necessarily need her to put down the No. 3 Hoosiers this afternoon. We’ll see how her knee holds up for the rest of the contest.