UConn hosted Villanova at Gampel Pavilion Wednesday night and treated them to a bulldozer route of 100 – 57. Villanova scored the first bucket of the game, after which UConn went on a 12-0 run until Maddie Burke made a jumper at 6:06. UConn ended their quarter up 31 – 15, and at the half the score was 58 – 32.
UConn shot 65.6% on 40-61 with 26 assists. The Huskies hit 9 – 17 from deep, grabbed 37 rebounds, and scored 17 points off of 15 Villanova turnovers. They also dominated the paint, scoring 50 points to Villanova’s 12. Sarah Strong led UConn with 22 points, followed by Paige Bueckers with 21, Kaitlyn Chen‘s season high of 17, and KK Arnold with 11. All of the starters sat out the fourth quarter. While the bench only scored 26 points, they played well, giving Coach Geno Auriemma some quality minutes.
Villanova was stymied from the get-go. UConn’s defense was overwhelming, and the Wildcats had no answer. Jasmine Bascoe led Villanova with 15 points, and Maddie Webber and Maddie Burke each added 11 points. Villanova’s bench was ineffective, going a combined 4 – 12 for 11 points.
In the last two games, the Huskies have shown a marked increase in intensity and pace, without the occasional lulls they’ve seen in other matches. While Villanova fared slightly better than Seton Hall, UConn won these two contests by a combined score of 196 – 93. So, have the Huskies turned a corner here? If they can keep up this kind go play, then yes.
HUSKIES WIN@WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/aR1nJ5lYe9
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) January 23, 2025
They are still going to need better production from Azzi Fudd, who only scored nine points, and Ashlynn Shade, who scored seven. Getting the ball to Jana El Alfy under the rim should be a priority. We’ve seen Morgan Cheli, Allie Ziebell, and Ice Brady have their moments. They need more of them. As Aubrey Griffin regains her footing on the court there will be a greater contribution.
This isn’t the Villanova of the Maddy Siegrist years. While not really in a rebuilding year, Coach Denise Dillon has a lot of work to do to get her team back to being a winning culture. They are currently sitting at sixth in the Big East with a conference record of 4 – 4.
What’s Next for Villanova and UConn
Next for the Wildcats is a home game on Saturday where they will host Xavier. Also on Saturday, UConn travels to Creighton for what will likely be their biggest conference test. Creighton is the only other unbeaten team in the Big East, and a win for them over UConn would put them solely in first place. A loss for UConn would have major significance in the rankings, so UConn is going to need everyone to step up. It is unlikely that the starters will have the luxury of sitting out the fourth quarter. Should be a good one.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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