Huskies Ready at Closing Time
The Story: A fourth-quarter deficit proved to be no problem as the No. 5-ranked women’s basketball team reclaimed the lead down the stretch to hold off No. 21 Villanova 63-58 at the XL Center yesterday afternoon.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Dorka Juhasz‘s 3-pointer with 1:44 broke a tie and the defense came up strong, with Aaliyah Edwards blocking the potential tying 3-pointer by Maddy Siegrist to help seal the win with 22 seconds left.
• Edwards scored 13 points and was 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final two minutes.
• Aubrey Griffin led the Huskies with 19 points and Juhasz added 16.
• It was a rough game for Lou Lopez Senechal, who followed up a 26-point performance at Tennessee on Thursday by going 2-for-13 for six points.
IRON FIVE! We know Geno Auriemma always goes with a tight rotation in big games, but he pushed the envelope with a limited roster by playing six players.
• Ayanna Patterson was the only player off the bench for the Huskies and she played just six minutes.
• UConn didn’t expend a ton of energy. It had only seven fastbreak points and put up only 49 shots. The offense was a slog as there were only seven assists on 21 baskets. The Huskies had only seven second-chance points and only seven points off turnovers.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “You just gotta gut it out, somehow, some way. I thought today was the first game all year where we looked really tired. Right after that first quarter, you could see the energy drain. But, again, somehow, some way, they found a way against a team that wasn’t necessarily going to go away regardless of what you were doing.”
BIG EAST RACE: The Huskies are 21-2 and a perfect 12-0 in the Big East and they hold now a 2.5-game lead over second-place Villanova. The Huskies also continue to pick up wins against top-25 teams as it was their fifth win over a ranked opponent this year.
FUTURE HUSKIES COMMIT: The Huskies could use her now, but they received a commitment from high school sophomore Kelis Fischer on Friday.
• Fisher is the No. 22 player in the class and is from Baltimore but plays for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
UP NEXT: After a pair of tests and a clash with No. 1 South Carolina coming up on Sunday, the Huskies get a breather as they head to Providence on Wednesday.
Morning Reads
• Tristen Newton‘s confidence got a big boost in the Huskies’ loss to Xavier. Can he continue to play well? (Hartford Courant)
• Former UConn player and Hartford great Norman Bailey died at the age of 61. (Hartford Courant)
• The No. 12-ranked men’s hockey team lost the Connecticut Ice final to No. 3 Quinnipiac, 4-3. (The UConn Blog)
Top photo: Geno Auriemma argues with an official in UConn’s win over Texas. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
