Storrs — The urgency was heightened earlier in the day when the Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll was released, turning the game from a normal, everyday heavyweight matchup between South Carolina and UConn into a showdown of No. 1 vs. No. 2.

Due to a loss by previous No. 1 Louisville, South Carolina climbed a spot in the poll from No. 2 to No. 1 and UConn went from No. 3 to No. 2, creating a sense of theater Monday night at Gampel Pavilion.

Luckily for UConn, freshman phenom Paige Bueckers, who finished with 31 points in a 63-59 overtime victory, was made for the theater.

"There's not much you can say," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said of Bueckers, who put together her fifth straight game with 20-or-more points and third straight with 30-or-more.

"I mean, she's that player. She's that player that comes along that people talk about. 'Hey, did you see that kid from Connecticut?' She's that kid."

Bueckers, who finished 14-for-26 shooting, scored all nine of UConn's points in overtime, as the Huskies walked a tightrope to beat South Carolina in a game which featured eight ties and seven lead changes. She scored UConn's final 13 points in all, four in the last 1 minute, 35 seconds of regulation as the Huskies, who once led by seven, came back to force the overtime session.

UConn then trailed 59-56 with 1:56 remaining in overtime when Bueckers hit back-to-back jump shots for a 60-59 lead with 46 seconds to play.

South Carolina turned the ball over and UConn, following a timeout, ran the clock as long as possible on its final possession, with Bueckers hitting an improbable 3-point field goal to ice it with 10.8 seconds remaining, the ball bouncing straight up in the air off the rim and then back through the net.

It was the first overtime victory for UConn (14-1) since December, 2004, against South Florida.

"I knew it was going in. I knew it was going in. I swear. I swear," UConn junior Olivia Nelson-Ododa said of Bueckers' final effort. "As soon as it went up like that, I had no doubt. She was carrying us tonight like that."

"I mean, we just were struggling to score at some point in time and it was just my teammates really," Bueckers said of her late-game scoring barrage. "They got me open. They set like a million, trillion screens for me ... everything they did for me was just amazing."

The game, billed as a sprint between two of the top-rated offenses in the nation — UConn came in ranked fourth with an average of 87.1 points per game — wasn't exactly played at the anticipated speed; South Carolina had zero fast break points and each team scored 20 points or more under its season average.

In what was an exceptional defensive showing, however, UConn forced 21 South Carolina turnovers, holding the Gamecocks to 36.8% shooting.

Freshmen Nika Muhl and Aaliyah Edwards had eight points each for UConn and Nelson-Ododa and Aubrey Griffin had seven rebounds each. Nelson-Ododa also contributed a team-high six assists.

Highly-touted sophomore Aliyah Boston had 17 points and 15 rebounds for South Carolina (15-2).

It was the 25th 1-2 matchup for UConn, which came into the game against South Carolina 21-3 in such meetings. UConn is 15-2 as the No. 1-ranked team in 1-2 duels and 7-1 as the No. 2.

The Huskies last matched up in a 1-2 outing during the 2018-19 season, winning 89-71 at then-No.1 Notre Dame. UConn has won nine straight 1-2s, last losing during the 2011-12 season at No. 1 Baylor (66-61).

At first, Monday, Auriemma had no idea about the change in the poll, which leveled up the excitement surrounding the game.

"I didn't know what they were talking about today when they were talking about 'Hey, big matchup, 1 vs. 2,'" Auriemma said. "What the hell's everybody talking about? I didn't even realize what was going on because that's how little I think it matters.

"I think more importantly it's the fact that you beat a good team. You beat a good team and you didn't have your 'A' stuff. You went to the mound, you didn't have your 'A' stuff but somehow or another you won the game and you had to go extra innings."

Against South Carolina, UConn saved its first-half excitement, at least offensively, until the final 1:02.

Trailing 21-20, Bueckers forced a South Carolina turnover and took it in for a layup to give the Huskies their first lead of the game at 22-21. Then, with 4 seconds remaining, Bueckers found Edwards cutting backdoor for a layup to push the lead to 24-21.

South Carolina's Zia Cooke ended the half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from halfcourt, tying the game at 24-24 and leaving both teams exactly where they started, in a tie.

The score was tied on three occasions in the third quarter, the final time at 34-all when Bueckers weaved her way through the Gamecocks' defense and threw up her version of a hook shot to score.

Muhl gave UConn the lead with a three-point play at the 4:36 mark to make it 37-34 and the Huskies — whose passing game picked up steam along the way, tormenting South Carolina with a series of backdoor cuts and perfect feeds — went on to lead 45-41 at the end of three quarters after Bueckers beat the buzzer with a drive to the basket.

Muhl started the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to give UConn its biggest lead of the game at 48-41 and the Huskies still led by seven when South Carolina went on an 11-0 run to lead 54-50.

• Also earlier in the day, Bueckers was named the Big East Conference Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week. Bueckers, who had back-to-back 30-point appearances last week in wins over St. John's and Marquette, is the first to sweep both league awards in a week since Villanova's Maddy Siegrist did so on Dec. 23, 2019. She is the fourth player in Big East history to record that feat, along with Siegrist, Marquette's Allazia Blockton (Feb. 15, 2016) and UConn's Maya Moore (March 4, 2008).

v.fulkerson@theday.com