Women’s Basketball: No. 7 Huskies win Big East Tournament, bury No. 10 Villanova 

Top 10 matchups are never easy to win. Especially when the top team that you’re facing is led by the nation’s leading scorer and likely All-American, Maddie Siegrist. Regardless of how many points she scored going into this game, the power forward was completely shut down by the prolific frontcourt of the No. 7 UConn Huskies, who held Siegrist to just 22 points–seven below her season average. This stellar defense helped the Huskies to a 67-56 victory, taking home the Big East Tournament title away from the No. 10 Villanova Wildcats and sweeping the season series.  

“These last three games reflect what team we can really be,” guard Lou Lopez-Senechal noted. “Even though the last few weeks were pretty rough, we’ve been able to overcome it in this tournament.” 

“You want winning to be special here in Connecticut,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, reflecting on the season. “Recently, it’s felt like something you have to do. It’s been misery when you lose and relief when you win. It almost felt like a chapter had been closed. Like I can sit back now and really let everything wash over you. So many things have happened this season that to get to this point, you want to just close that book and start a new one next Sunday. This book ended the right way.” 

This is the Huskies’ third straight Big East championship and they’ve been unstoppable in conference since returning in 2020. Most Outstanding Player went to Aaliyah Edwards, who was incredible all tournament. She averaged 19 and 13 for the weekend, absolutely dominating. Lou Lopez-Senechal and Dorka Juhasz also made the all-tournament team, thanks to their excellent efforts. 

“Congratulations to UConn,” Wildcat coach Denise Dillon said. “It was a tough battle. Extremely proud of our group for not quitting. We’ll regroup and be ready for the NCAA tournament.” 

Lou Lopez-Senechal and Christina Dalce each scored the first four points for their respective teams, with the former scoring seven in the first four minutes. The teams stayed neck and neck for the opening five minutes, with Juhasz nailing a three to grab a four point advantage.  

Juhasz continues to play excellent basketball, one of the key reasons the Huskies are sitting in the position they’re in now. She’s been the perfect center for this team, a versatile mix of inside dominance with abilities to stretch the floor. She showed just that Monday with 16 points and eight boards. As good as Villanova’s Christiana Dalce has been all year, she was no match for the Hungarian, getting her shot swatted multiple times.  

The Wildcats tied the game with a pair of shots, but the Huskies roared back with seven unanswered points, fueled by Juhasz’s old-fashioned three point play. It was a heavy fouling period for Villanova, but they managed to escape it with a mere five point deficit.  

Siegrist, the Big East POTY, and Kaitlyn Orihel canned back to back shots from deep and all of a sudden the Huskies’ lead was gone. Enter Aaliyah Edwards, who hit a jumper and a layup to put UConn back ahead. Not only that, she also notched an early double-double, pacing everyone in scoring and rebounding halfway through. 

Edwards took home MOP honors and there’s good reason why. She capped off her dominant championship run with a 19 point, 15 board and three assist night. She has been the reason the Huskies have reached the heights they have this year, with her monumental improvement from her sophomore slump. It would be a surprise if she doesn’t find herself as an All-American when teams are released. This team goes as Edwards does, and she will be the key to the Huskies’ run in March.  

“It means a lot,” Edwards commented on the championship. “We put a lot into practice. Everything we went through this season, to come out with the same outcome is awesome. We couldn’t have done it without coach and the coaching staff. It feels great to be celebrating the win with them.” 

“She knocked out some of our guys, but she managed to stay in every game,” Auriemma said of Edwards. “She’s a durable kid. When she has it going, the confidence is high, she’s able to do whatever the game calls for. When she goes on those rebounding tears, she gets every one.” 

The Huskies continued to push with more scores from Edwards as things began to get sloppy. The top two teams in the conference traded turnovers, with the officials missing some pretty obvious foul calls. Ultimately, a last second foul by Siegrist–her second–gave Nika Muhl a pair of free throws that she used to get Connecticut up by 10 at the break.  

The point guard hasn’t punished the nets herself–and this continued Monday with only five points, but her eight dimes were much more indicative of how she’s helped UConn succeed this year. She’s been the quintessential “glue guy,” setting the Huskies’ all-time record for assists in a season. She also does all the team’s dirty work, setting the tone for the energy Connecticut puts forth every time out.  

Muhl helped open the second half with two dimes and a score of her own, helping to create a 15 point cushion and forcing a Wildcat timeout. Azzi Fudd’s third and fourth threes of the tournament came at the wrong time for Villanova, as she helped push the lead out to 23 for a 14-0 run. 

Fudd played well, scoring 11 points, but she still isn’t the same player that started the season. Her uncharacteristic air-ball was a demonstration of that, but her three threes were much more up to speed, as she looks to use this Elite Eight-caliber game to gain confidence. 

“I think coming out of the locker room, we had that mindset that Villanova’s a really good team,” Juhasz mentioned of the third quarter run. “We had to make sure we came out strong. I also knew that when Azzi was missing in the first half, it was going to go in in the second half. It was nice to see Azzi smile when the ball goes through. It’s great to have her back.” 

Siegrist and Maddie Burke did their best to keep things competitive with six straight points of her own, but another triple from Fudd silenced them. Siegrist picked up her fourth foul with just eight minutes left in the game, putting considerable pressure on her ability to be as intense as she normally is. The Huskies left with an 11 point victory–and it wasn’t even that close, with the Wildcats finishing with seven garbage points. 

It’s now a waiting game for the Huskies as they’ll look for their name to get called on Selection Sunday.