The Seton Hall Pirates came to Gampel Pavilion hoping to break the 39-game losing streak to the UConn Huskies. The streak is now 40.
From the tipoff, the Huskies played their most energetic offensive and defensive game of the season. Coach Geno Auriemma used 12 players, and twelve players scored. Seton Hall senior Faith Masonius, the team’s scoring leader averaging 17.4 points per game was held to eight points. They were without the services of Savannah Catalon and Shailyn Pinkney, although it is unlikely that would have made much of a difference. Jada Eads led the Pirates with 14 points.
With such a significant lead, UConn had the opportunity for their bench players to grab more playing time. The crowd at Gampel gave Aubrey Griffin a resounding welcome back since she tore her ACL on Jan. 3 of last year in a game against Creighton.
In 11 minutes, Griffin scored three points and had four rebounds and two assists. Allie Ziebell added to her growing number of three-pointers by going 3-6 from deep. Sarah Strong led the Huskies with 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers scored 18.
Bueckers Makes History in Front of the Home Crowd
But the night belonged to Bueckers, who entered the game 6 points shy of 2000 career points. She scored three in the first quarter on a 3-point jumper early on. Everyone had to wait until the second quarter when Bueckers hit a pair of free throws in the opening minute, and then less than a minute later hit a jumper on an assist from Ashlynn Shade, which brought her total to 2001.
The crowd gave her a boisterous reception as the game went on. Bueckers became the 12th Husky to reach the 2000-point mark, doing it in 102 games. The previous record was 108 games held by Maya Moore. Not a bad company to join.
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— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) January 19, 2025
Seton Hall could do nothing to stop the bleeding other than try and make a game of it. UConn forced 19 turnovers, scoring 27 points, and Seton Hall scored 11 points off of 13 UConn turnovers. The Pirates were held to 22.6% shooting, with UConn coming in at 56.5% and going 17-32 from three.
How Seton Hall recovers from such a pounding is going to be a large task for coach Tony Bozzella. To watch your team completely steamrolled can only be disheartening. However, the Pirates currently sit in third place in the Big East with an overall record of 13-5 and a 5-2 record in conference play, so they still have opportunities to make an impact.
What’s Next for Seton Hall and UConn?
This was the kind of game that UConn needs going forward. With two significant non-conference games approaching, at Tennessee on Feb. 6 and at South Carolina on Feb. 16, the Huskies cannot afford to backstep from this performance. The competition is only going to get tougher.
Up next for Seton Hall is a home game welcoming St. John’s on January 25. UConn will welcome Villanova on January 22.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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