Less than five minutes into the game, junior guard Lucy Olsen picked up her second foul after trying to defend senior forward Aaliyah Edwards. With the Big East Conference’s leading scorer on the bench, it looked like the Villanova Wildcats might struggle for the rest of the first half.
That was not the case. Villanova gave the No. 11 UConn women’s basketball team their toughest conference challenge yet. Although UConn won 81-60 at the Finneran Pavilion in Pennsylvania, the 21-point margin of victory does not tell the full story.
Up until the halfway mark of the third quarter, the Huskies found themselves engaged in tactical warfare. During the nine minutes Olsen spent on the bench in the first half, the Wildcats kept Connecticut within their eyesight. Down as much as eight in the first quarter, Villanova pulled within one behind their aggressive drive to the lane and a raucous home crowd.
Reigning Big East Freshman of the Week Maddie Webber led the charge in Olsen’s absence. Webber had two points in the first five minutes but transitioned into a leading role that she carried into halftime. Junior guard Zanai Jones also got in on the action, cashing in often at the line and making it difficult for the Huskies to gain any real momentum.
Their two-headed attack, combined with Olsen’s offensive prowess once she returned, kept the Wildcats within six points for most of the second quarter. Despite a go-ahead second-chance jumper from the junior guard, UConn went into the locker room up one following two free throws.
It remained gritty after the intermission. Both teams exchanged the lead once within the first two minutes of the third quarter. Edwards drove to the lane for a deuce with 5:12 remaining in the frame for a 44-43 Huskies’ advantage. From then on, Connecticut never relinquished their lead. The Huskies shot efficiently in the third quarter for the second straight contest, going 10-14 from the field and making their last nine shots.
Unlike Saturday’s loss, UConn sustained their energy over two periods and never let their foot off the gas.
The Huskies made 18 of their last 22 field goal attempts over the final 15 minutes, including two stretches where they made seven or more in a row. First-year guard KK Arnold went a perfect 4-4 in the second half, bouncing back from a three-foul first for a 13-point outing.
Villanova could not answer once Connecticut found its groove. The Wildcats scored 17 points across the game’s final 15 minutes, missing four straight shots on three separate occasions. When the dust settled, the Huskies walked out of the Finn with their seventh true road victory of the year and remained undefeated in conference play.
Edwards did not attempt a single shot in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss to the then-No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. UConn gave their All-American forward a 34-minute buffet in the post against Villanova. Left all alone down low and near the basket on numerous occasions, the senior capitalized at a 9-13 clip for a game-best 22 points.
Senior guard Nika Mühl provided the assist on three of Edwards’ nine buckets. Having fouled out and been held scoreless in Saturday’s upset loss, Mühl bounced back in a big way in 39 minutes of action with a 12-point, 10-assist double-double. Made clear following a defeat at Gampel Pavilion, head coach Geno Auriemma sees the senior guard as the motor of their offense.
“We are a different team when Nika [Mühl] is on the floor,” Auriemma told SNY afterward.
Redshirt junior Paige Bueckers, meanwhile, did what she normally does against conference foes. Defensively, Bueckers forced one steal and gave Villanova trouble from all over the floor. Offensively, the redshirt junior shot 50% from the field despite making just one three for 21 points with five assists to boot. Although she dropped 20+ points for the fifth time in her last six games, Auriemma believes Bueckers is not getting recognized enough at the national level for the impact she has had on the team.
“The problem with coaching somebody like Paige [Bueckers] is that your expectations are so high, you do not truly appreciate how many great things she does,” Auriemma stated. “I would like to see [Bueckers] play with a full complement of players. Then you can judge for yourself how good she is.”
UConn’s defense and communication on that end of the court improved from their loss to the Fighting Irish four days earlier. It was not perfect — they allowed six triples and gave their longtime foe 14 extra possessions — but the Huskies forced the Wildcats into 11 turnovers on six steals. Between conquering the defensive glass 24-14 and rejecting two shots, Connecticut caused problems for several of Villanova’s stars.
As they have against leading scorers throughout most of conference play, the Huskies kept Olsen well below her season average. The junior guard entered scoring almost 24 points a night; she finished with 15 (13 of which came in the first half) on 6-17 shooting. It was not a season-low by any means, but Olsen’s 6-17 performance from the field was her worst in four weeks.
Christina Dalce came in averaging almost nine points and double-digit rebounds a night. UConn held her to seven points and just three boards, putting her in several tough situations on the interior more than once. All 11 of Webber’s points came in the first half. No Wildcat finished with more than four rebounds. Since upsetting the then-No. 22 Marquette Golden Eagles at home two weeks ago, Villanova has lost three of four.
Next up for the Huskies is a two-game homestand to kick off February and their second contest against the St. John’s Red Storm (14-9, 8-3 Big East). Tip-off in UConn’s third game at Gampel Pavilion in as many weekends is set for 3 p.m. on Sunday on CBSSN.