Christyn Williams bounces back against Georgetown; Paige Bueckers tries to ignore the pressure

Before the UConn women’s basketball team played Seton Hall on Wednesday, coach Geno Auriemma sat down with struggling guard Christyn Williams.

The junior, the team’s second-leading scorer, was slumping. She had gone 6-for-33 on 3-point attempts over her previous six games, and had just six points on 3-of-11 shooting against No. 1 South Carolina on Monday.

The two spoke for about an hour, Auriemma said. Williams then went scoreless in 25 minutes against the Pirates.

“I think it’s better when I don’t talk to my players,” Auriemma said after UConn’s win over Georgetown on Friday. “Let them figure it out themselves. They probably enjoy talking to other people instead of me.”

Against the Hoyas, Williams looked more like her old self. She led the No. 2 Huskies (16-1, 13-0 Big East Conference) with 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting, 3-of-9 from three. She scored 14 points in the first half, and pulled down seven rebounds.

“I have a circle, I talked to my teammates, talked to my family,” Williams said. “The people that are closest to me and help me stay positive ... but at the end of the day, they’re not out on the court with me. I’ve got to grow up and figure things out on my own. Constantly growing, constantly working on my mindset. It paid off today.”

Williams took what the Georgetown zone defense gave her, with the majority of her attempts coming off of jump shots. Auriemma said that sometimes, the defense will “dictate what kind of shot you’re going to get,” and that Williams capitalized on her looks on Friday.

“I feel like in the other games, I was very passive and not very confident in myself,” Williams said. “I just went into this game telling myself, ‘Here we go, we’re in it.’ That’s what happened, and some shots went in.”

A rejuvenated Williams would give the Huskies another reliable scorer on offense alongside freshman guard Paige Bueckers, who leads the team in scoring. The Huskies now have a break before they play St. John’s on Wednesday.

For Williams, there’s nothing better than going into that break on a positive note.

“It would have been very sucky if I would have played horrible in this game and had two days to sit on it,” Williams said. “I’m happy I get to go out on a bang, and take this time to get my mind right ... looking forward to practice on Monday.”

Bueckers tries to ignore pressure, battles freshman wall

Bueckers has looked unflappable in her first season of college basketball. UConn’s star freshman guard has led the Huskies with 21.1 points and 5.6 assists per game. At her best, she’s been the best player on the court for both teams, and at the very least, she’s looked calm, confident and unlike someone who was playing high school basketball just a year ago.

But even for those who look untouchable, and sometimes unstoppable, behind-the-scenes struggles still occur.

“I’ve hit a wall [before],” Bueckers said. “There was a couple of practices where I wasn’t there mentally, and it kind of made me take a few steps back and realize I need to check back in. It was a tough time, but I try not to show it on my face and show it in my emotions. Because my team needs me, my coaches need me. I can’t be in my own head about things. I just have to stay confident.”

And, for the former No. 1 overall recruit, there’s been a never-ending gauntlet of expectations.

“The pressure, I try not to focus on it really,” Bueckers said. “I’m just trying to do what my team needs me to do, what my coaches want me to, and what my teammates want me to do. All the other outside noise, it doesn’t really matter to me, because I’m not focused on anyone else’s opinions. I’m not going to be perfect for anybody. Everyone’s always going to have something to say.”

Auriemma said that Bueckers doesn’t show signs of struggling, but it has happened. He said the way players handle it depends on how many other “really, really good players” are on the team, personal makeup, what the player is accustomed to doing on the floor.

“If you have to deliver every single night as a freshman, that’s a difficult task,” Auriemma said. “Paige doesn’t show it, but it’s happened to her already. Maybe it’s happening right now. But she doesn’t let on to it, you’ll never know ... When you have to take 25 shots some nights to win a game, that’s not a great place to be in.”

Shawn McFarland can be reached at smcfarland@courant.com.