The St. John’s Red Storm welcomed the UConn Huskies to Carnesecca Arena in Queens, NY Wednesday night for what they hoped would be a rare win. Unfortunately, the Red Storm was more of a chance of showers that never really materialized.
After missing two games due to a knee injury, Paige Bueckers returned in what could be called a measured performance. Bueckers played only 23 minutes and sat out the entire fourth quarter.
Coach Geno Auriemma said:
“…I never doubt what Paige can do to impact the game, because I’ve seen it so many times, but I also know she’s not a robot where you can just put her in, push the button and anything happens automatically.”
In a rather low-scoring but defensively good game, St. John’s never really had much of a chance. The Huskies outscored them 25-10 in the first quarter, and although the rest of the game wasn’t exactly a barn burner, UConn held St. John’s at bay and came away with the 71- 45 win. At one point in the third quarter, the lead was down to 11 points, but the Red Storm could get no closer.
HUSKIES WIN@WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/V49qZmXnpC
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) January 16, 2025
Azzi Fudd topped the UConn scoring with 13 points. Sarah Strong had a rare low-scoring game, grabbing only six points, five boards, and five assists in 24 minutes. Ashlynn Shade scored 10 off the bench. KK Arnold, who is playing with the tenacity that Nika Mühl showed, scored 6 but was all over the court. Like Mühl, Arnold is prone to fouling, and her presence is needed on the court, so that needs to be addressed.
Kaitlyn Chen who was a more prolific scorer with Princeton, needs more open looks. Freshmen Jana El Alfy, Morgan Cheli, and Allie Ziebell continue to show signs of improvement. They do not play with hesitation. El Alfy’s progress is more apparent. In this game, one could see her self-correcting some mistakes, which should be a good sign. Overall, the bench made a good contribution, something that they’re going to need to continue to do.
St. John’s couldn’t get going in any kind of scoring rhythm. Only Ber’Nyah Mayo hit double figures with 10 points, and Ariel Little scored 8 off the bench. It was not a high turnover game, but UConn scored 15 points off of St. John’s turnovers, while the Red Storm only scored 6 from UConn.
Currently, UConn sits atop the Big East at 7 – 0. St. John’s is ninth, with a record of 1 – 5 in conference play. Next for St. John’s is a home game on Saturday when they will face Villanova. UConn heads home to Gampel Pavilion for an afternoon game Sunday with Seton Hall.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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