Following a stunning loss to the No. 19 Arkansas on Thursday, during which they allowed a season-high 90 points, UConn hit the road seeking redemption against the 9-3 DePaul Blue Demons. And on Sunday, Jan. 31, thanks to a bounce-back performance from Paige Bueckers and Christyn Williams, the Huskies got back in the win column.
As they have all season, UConn got off to a slow start. They were sluggish defensively and struggled to find a rhythm on offense. As a result, they were outscored in the first quarter by a 22-18 margin. From there, the Huskies stepped on the gas and went into halftime up 47-33. The second half produced much of the same dominant basketball for UConn, who won by a final score of 100-67.
Though UConn’s leading scorers Bueckers (22 points) and Williams (29 points) both had strong scoring games, the Huskies had contributions up and down the lineup. Six players scored in double-figures, Bueckers had 10 assists and Evina Westbrook had a career-high 14 rebounds. Head coach Geno Auriemma was highly encouraged by the way his squad played team basketball. He said, “I thought today, everybody that played had a really good day. We got a lot of really positive things from everybody.”
Auriemma also noted that his team had a strong defensive outing, which in turn helped their offense and vice versa. The Huskies out-rebounded DePaul 50-31 while collecting six steals and five blocks. Meanwhile, on offense they made 25 baskets off assists while holding DePaul to 11. “If your offensive movement is good, your defensive movement tends to be good,” Auriemma said. “Today we had both of those things.”
UConn’s next game will be on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. They will host the St. John’s Red Storm at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.
