The UConn Huskies rolled into the DMV to meet the Georgetown Hoyas at the Entertainment & Sports Arena on Saturday looking for their 15th win. They got it, but not without a fight from a different Georgetown team than they faced on December 15.
The Hoyas came out fast, holding an eight-point lead up until Azzi Fudd made a layup at the 4:28 mark. From there, the Huskies tacked on another 7 points to Georgetown’s 2 and ended the quarter 18-17 in favor of the Hoyas. They continued to go back and forth in the second quarter until KK Arnold made a layup with about 3 minutes left, and the Huskies started to pull away. They ended the half with UConn leading 38-33. UConn never trailed again for the rest of the game, which ended by a score of 73-55.
With Paige Bueckers missing her second game in a row, the Huskies once again looked to Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong to lead the charge, which they did. Fudd ended with 21 points and Strong contributed 16, with Ashlynn Shade scoring 12. Jana El Alfy scored four points but added six boards, two assists, and 4 blocked shots. Kaitlyn Chen scored six and KK Arnold seven.
HUSKIES WIN@WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/20MuRuRIIN
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) January 11, 2025
The Hoyas didn’t fare as well. Their leading scorer, Kelsey Ransom, was held to nine points, and Victoria Rivera scored 10. The star of the game was Khadee Hession, who before this contest was averaging just over five points a game. She led all scorers with 22 points and went 6-8 from three. What hurt Georgetown, aside from not being able to handle UConn’s defense, was zero points from the bench.
There were enough signs in this meeting to indicate that Georgetown has the potential to be a much better team. The difference between their first meeting with UConn and this game showed improvements. In their first meeting, the Hoyas turned the ball over 22 times.
In this game, only 10. The shooting percentage was up some points, as was the three-point shooting. Hession only scored 4 points in the first game. Still, there is a lot of work to be done.
UConn Winning Without Bueckers
UConn will hopefully get Bueckers back soon, perhaps next week. Her presence is missed, but the team, aside from a slow start, stepped it up and took clear control. With Bueckers, Fudd, and Strong on the court, the potential is much higher. While the freshmen continue to improve, they are going to need to pick up the pace and make strides to be more consistent shooters.
Morgan Cheli and Allie Ziebell have very good three-point shots and both can get to the rim. El Alfy is slowly getting better on the inside, and with her size, can become a dominating center. The big test for UConn will be February’s matchup against South Carolina. I would not write the Huskies off on this contest, but they are going to have to play a nearly flawless game to win.
Up next for Georgetown is a Tuesday game at Butler. UConn has another road game on Wednesday at St. John’s, who sit in seventh place in the Big East.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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