Mohegan — Geno Auriemma was fumbling for the right word, something he doesn’t usually do.

When he finally figured out how to describe Saturday’s injury to senior forward Aaliyah Edwards, an All-America candidate who left the game with 6 minutes, 2 seconds left in the third quarter of a Big East Conference tournament quarterfinal against Providence and never returned, he settled on “numbing.”

Paige Bueckers finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three assists and three blocked shots as top-seeded UConn defeated No. 9 Providence 86-53 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Edwards got elbowed in the nose by Sarah Bandoma of Providence, who was whistled for an intentional foul, after which UConn came out with a vengeance. The Huskies (27-5) led 41-35 at the time of the injury and went on a 45-18 tear thereafter, including a 12-0 run to close the game.

Edwards’ status for the remainder of the tournament was initially unknown, with Auriemma saying more information should be available later Saturday night.

The Huskies face No. 5 Marquette in the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Marquette (23-7) edged No. 4 Villanova 50-48 in the quarterfinals.

“We pride ourselves in being able to handle pretty much anything that comes along,” Auriemma said. “You get to experience everything over the course of a season; that’s five months or whatever.

“And then today when Aaliyah went down it was just one more thing that was thrown at us. The way we responded in that second half, how our players performed, I thought was tremendous. I thought we showed a lot of maturity during that stretch, a lot of toughness, a lot of character.”

UConn, which already has five players out for the season due to injury, was left with only seven players after Edwards’ injury.

The Huskies held a 41-35 lead at the time and Bueckers missed the technical free throws that were awarded from the intentional foul. Nika Muhl, however, Edwards’ fellow senior, next completed a three-point play and freshman KK Arnold followed with a three-point play of her own.

Ice Brady connected on a pair of free throws and Bueckers scored 11 of the Huskies’ next 13 points as the lead grew to 62-45.

Arnold finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists for UConn, Edwards with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 24 minutes of a physical game in which she drew seven fouls from the Friars, and Ashlynn Shade with 10 points.

Grace Efosa scored 23 points for Providence (13-20).

“Once Aaliyah went down, we kind of called a huddle and we were talking about just how locked in we have to be, how extra-focused we’re going to have to be stepping in for Aaliyah, who does so much for us,” said Bueckers, the Big East Player of the Year, who along with Edwards was a unanimous pick on the all-conference first team.

Edwards is averaging 17.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She returned to the bench area at the arena, walking gingerly from out of a nearby tunnel, with 5:13 to play to a standing ovation from the crowd.

Auriemma said Edwards’ nose looks like “it’s been through a fight.”

“Just to see that she was OK, she was standing up on both feet, and having her back out there was huge for the presence of the team,” Bueckers said. “We all checked on her to make sure she was good.”

“It’s been numbing for us to the point where there wasn’t really much you could say other than ‘This is it; this is what we’ve got,’” Auriemma said. “We talked a lot about (how) some of these young guys have to grow up and they have to grow up fast and they did.”

Arnold, for instance, shot 6-for-10, 3-for-6 from 3-point range. During the Huskies’ closing 12-0 run, she hit a 3-pointer, passed up an open shot to kick the ball to Shade for an open 3 and then drove and kissed the ball high off the glass as the team extended the lead to 82-53.

Said Bueckers of Arnold: “She affected the game in every aspect. She completely took it over and was aggressive and along with Ice stepped up huge when Aaliyah went down and was a huge reason for that run we went on.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com

No. 1 UConn vs. No. 5 Marquette

Location: Mohegan Sun Arena

Tip: 2:30 p.m. (FS1)

Records: Marquette 23-7, UConn 27-5.

Last game: Marquette beat No. 4 Villanova in the Big East tournament quarterfinals, 50-48, Saturday; UConn beat No. 9 Providence in the Big East tournament quarterfinals, 86-53, Saturday.

Last game’s starters: Marquette, 6-1 G/F Frannie Hottinger (7.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg), 6-2 F Liza Karlen (17.8 ppg, 7.7 reb, 2.0 apg), 5-9 G Rose Nkumu (7.2 ppg, 4.8 apg, 1.7 spg), 5-9 G Mackenzie Hare (14.3 ppg, 2.6 apg), 5-11 G Jordan King (13.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.6 apg).

UConn, 5-9 G KK Arnold (9.2 ppg, 3.2 apg, 2.3 spg), 6-3 F Aaliyah Edwards (17.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.7 spg), 6-0 G Paige Bueckers (21.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.1 spg), 5-11 G Nika Muhl (7.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.4 apg, 1.2 spg), 5-10 G Ashlynn Shade (11.1 ppg, 1.6 apg).

Noteworthy: UConn, ranked ninth in the nation, started the Big East tournament Saturday with eight available players and wound up with seven when senior forward Aaliyah Edwards took an elbow to the nose (ruled an intentional foul) with 6:02 remaining in the third quarter. Huskies’ head coach Geno Auriemma was pleased with the way his team responded in the 86-53 win. “Sometimes you’re put in a situation where you have no choice, which I kind of love that,” Auriemma said. “’Cause it brings out the best in you, the best in all of us. ‘Somebody’ll come off the bench and pick me up, give me a breather.’ No, it’s all on you. It’s a lot but it gives you an opportunity to show what you’ve got.” Following the game, Auriemma was waiting to hear if Edwards would be available for the remainder of the three-games-in-three-days trek through the tournament. “I wish we had a couple days between games, but unfortunately we gotta get ready for tomorrow,” Auriemma said. ... Next up: Marquette. The Golden Eagles defeated Villanova 50-48 in the quarters to reach their eighth straight semifinal, getting 13 points and eight rebounds from All-Big East first team pick Liza Karlen. It is the fourth straight season UConn and Marquette have met in the tournament, with UConn ousting the Golden Eagles in three straight seasons. Last season, the Huskies defeated Marquette 81-52 in the semis. It will be the third meeting between the teams this year, with UConn winning 94-64 at the XL Center on Dec. 31 and 85-59 Jan. 23 in Milwaukee. ... Marquette coach Megan Duffy was asked about both teams needing to turn the page quickly after a Saturday filled with emotion. “I just think you stay steady,” Duffy said. “It's pretty simple. You get a shower and some food and you work on the scout a little bit. ... As you play multiple games through the week, physically you're not going to get any fresher or feel any better that way. It's the opposite. So mentally just focused on the game plan and keeping it simple that way.” ... Marquette’s Jordan King, an All-Big East second team selection, is the league’s active career scoring leader with 1,794.

— Vickie Fulkerson