UConn had their biggest test of this young season when they met Ole Miss in the Baha Mar Women’s Championship game on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. After a blistering first half, in which Ole Miss struggled with just about everything, the Rebels turned into a buzzsaw in the third quarter, outscoring UConn 28-15.
The Huskies couldn’t get a footing as the Rebels reeled off 15 unanswered points and closed the gap to three points. Turnovers, fouls, missed shots, nothing was working for the Huskies. That is until Azzi Fudd stepped up and saved the game. Fudd scored 7 of her 18 points in the third and was the spark that brought the Huskies back to life. The quarter closed on a buzzer-beater jumper from Paige Bueckers, giving UConn a six-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
UConn held themselves to three turnovers in the fourth quarter but ended with a total of 18. Ole Miss scored 17 points off UConn’s turnovers, while the Huskies only scored six off of the 11 Ole Miss turnovers. UConn also struggled from beyond the arc going 3-14 while Ole Miss went 8-25. But in the end, UConn shot 31-53 for 58.5% and held Ole Miss to 32.4% on 22-68.
Baha Mar Champs ? pic.twitter.com/NFyTaglU7s
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) November 28, 2024
Bueckers led the Huskies and all scorers with 29 points but committed five turnovers. Fudd scored 18 points and Sarah Strong, who also struggled, scored 10 points going 5-12. Jana El Alfy made a good contribution with eight points and nine boards. Ole Miss was led by KK Deans with 17 points, followed by Kennedy Todd-Williams with 13, Starr Jacobs with 11, and Madison Scott with 10.
Takeaways From The Finals Of The Baha Mar Championship Game
The two most impressive takeaways in this game are 1) how Ole Miss didn’t back down and steamrolled their way through the third quarter, and 2) how UConn kept their composure as they saw a substantial lead dwindle. Both are impressive. Ole Miss is a very talented and tenacious team, extremely well coached, and will present a problem to many of their coming opponents.
UConn showed why, even in the face of adversity, no one should dismiss them or take them lightly. Even though they won, it was not the kind of win that they’d be overly happy about, particularly with how many times they coughed up the ball. In addition, Fudd’s return is going to be instrumental in how UConn moves forward.
While it is likely that Fudd will be on a minutes restriction for a while, at some point she may come back into the starting line-up. How this affects the UConn rotation will be interesting to see, it is also likely that Ashlynn Shade might not see as many minutes as she has up to this point. But Shade is a great weapon off the bench, as are KK Arnold and Jana El Alfy. Ice Brady continues to mature, and Strong will keep bringing her intensity and improve.
What’s Next For Ole Miss And UConn?
Up next for Ole Miss is a home game welcoming Alabama State on Saturday. UConn will have a home game against Holy Cross on Tuesday.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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