Paige Bueckers scored 15 points before exiting due to injury in No. 7 UConn’s 83-52 win over host Villanova on Sunday.

Bueckers contributed nine assists for the Huskies (13-2, 4-0 Big East) before he was injured in a collision near the court with 1:17 left in the third quarter. Bueckers was going for a loose ball when Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe dove and hit the All-American’s left knee, bending it backwards awkwardly.

“She’s pretty good. I mean it was unfortunate, the kid jumped for the ball and I’m sure people saw it. Paige turned her back and it was a weird situation,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said after the win. “It’s funny because we had someone at the scorer’s table who was willing to come forward. But she’ll be fine. She looks good. I’m optimistic, let’s put it that way.”

Bueckers — who tore her ACL in her knee in 2022, an injury that sidelined her for a year — sat on the court for a minute before limping off. She went to the locker room before returning to the bench a few minutes later. She didn’t return to the ground.

“It’s not the worst thing we can imagine,” Auriemma said. “So this is great news considering how embarrassing it was.”

The game was close early on before the Huskies took an eight-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Sarah Strong, who led UConn with 21 points, had 10 in the first 10 minutes. UConn extended its lead over Villanova (7-8, 1-2) to 43-26 at halftime.

The Wildcats got within 47-34 early in the third quarter before Azzi Fudd scored five straight goals for UConn during a 7-0 run to decide the game.

The Huskies will host Xavier on Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.