Hartford — It was about a month ago, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, that injured superstar Paige Bueckers walked into the athletic training room with a swollen left knee, the remnants of surgery she had Dec. 13 to repair a left tibial plateau fracture and a lateral meniscus tear.

"Everybody said, 'This is not good and this is going to set you back a long time,'" Auriemma said late Wednesday night after the seventh-ranked Huskies' 69-38 win over Marquette to clinch the Big East Conference regular-season championship.

"And she came back two days later and it was gone. I said, 'What happened?' She goes, 'I'm different. I told God I needed the swelling to go out and it went out.' I kid you not. The kid just has this knack of she heals at her own pace. She has a meeting (Thursday) with Dr. Arciero and after (that) we'll see what happens."

Auriemma originally said Bueckers wouldn't play the rest of the regular season for UConn (20-5, 14-1). But UConn officials announced Thursday afternoon that Bueckers has been cleared to return when the Huskies play St. John's on Friday at the XL Center (7 p.m., SNY).

Bueckers, a sophomore guard and the 2021 national player of the year, was in uniform Wednesday for the first time since her injury, Dec. 5, and took part in stretching and warmups.

Auriemma referred to her jokingly as Punxutawny Paige, alluding to the protagonist of Groundhog Day, Punxutawney Phil.

"If she sees her shadow, it might be two more weeks of rehab," Auriemma said. "I don't know."

"It was great, you know," said Bueckers' fellow sophomore, Aaliyah Edwards, of having her teammate back in the layup line. "She's still talking but she never really stopped talking. It's great to have her back and just the whole team coming back. It's a good vibe."

UConn has had eight of its 12 players miss at least two games this year due to illnesses or injuries. That's allowed the Huskies to develop a measure of versatility that will serve it well now that the postseason is set to arrive next weekend with the Big East tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Against Marquette, Auriemma started Christyn Williams, Nika Muhl and Azzi Fudd at guard and Olivia Nelson-Ododa along with Edwards at forward. That left fifth-year senior Evina Westbrook as the first player off the bench, although she was only there for 1 minute, 35 seconds until Muhl picked up her second foul. Graduate transfer Dorka Juhasz and freshman Caroline Ducharme, both previously starters, as is Westbrook, also came off the bench.

Westbrook led the way with 17 points, five rebounds and three steals.

"I think at first it almost felt weird to have so many people back," Westbrook said. "We're used to playing with just five or six people and we kind of got used to that. It's going to be another adjustment when we get everyone back. Everyone is figuring out their role. I'm just excited for when that moment happens. I think anyone can kind of just play any role at any given moment."

Westbrook referred to Nelson-Ododa, who finished with 10 points, six rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots as a "guard/forward/post/point guard."

Auriemma said previously he thinks there will be an adjustment period with Bueckers back on the floor but said Wednesday that as long as she's able to play, things will be just fine.

"You've been telling me all this time that when we get everybody back it's going to be amaaaaazing," Auriemma said. "Now, 'Hey, when you get everybody back, what are you gonna do?' Everything gets sorted out eventually."

Auriemma said that Juhasz, who left the floor with 6:48 left against Marquette after being hit in the face, received stitches for a cut inside her mouth.

A UConn spokesman said that Juhasz will participate in Senior Day Sunday at Gampel Pavilion along with Westbrook, Williams and Nelson-Ododa. Juhasz, who transferred from Ohio State, has another year of eligibility but has not decided whether to use it.

St. John's (11-16, 7-10) is led by 6-foot junior guard Leilani Correa with 17.8 points per game, fourth in the Big East. UConn beat St. John's 75-57 on Jan. 23.

v.fulkerson@theday.com