Not every game goes as expected. Sometimes, you beat a mediocre conference opponent by 43 on the road. Other times, that same opponent is a tough out in the return game on campus. That was the case in UConn’s game against St. John’s on Sunday, which was not the most pleasant to watch. They largely struggled to get past the Red Storm after demolishing them on Long Island in a game that had little rhythm.
“There’s a reason St. John’s record is what it is,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma noted. “They’re not an easy team to play against. When we got up 20, there was a little lull. We missed a couple layups; we must lead the country in opponents banking threes in on us. Once we got Aaliyah [Edwards] and Paige [Bueckers] working together again, [it was okay]. It would have been nice to get everyone involved, but Paige and Aaliyah stepped up.”
The theme for the contest was Play4Kay, honoring those who are and have been in the battle against cancer, particularly breast cancer. Kay Yow was a legendary coach at NC State but lost her life to breast cancer and was a big advocate for the cause. To spread awareness, St. John’s jerseys were bright pink, and UConn’s home whites had a pink trim.
While spreading awareness was a focus, the star of the show was Edwards. The All-American forward went for a career-high 33 points to go along with 13 boards and four steals. She often goes through aggressive spurts but keeps her foot on the pedal throughout the contest.
“She’s having an All-American season,” Auriemma said. “In the world we live in, you have to score a [expletive] ton to get attention. How much does scoring points really matter? How you score them, when you score them, what they mean to the team. She doesn’t have other post players we’re rotating her with. What she’s doing is impressive.”
Edwards sees this part of the campaign as a time when she needs to step up as a senior.
“It’s that time of the season when you have to lock in and hone in on what you execute,” Edwards noted. “My teammates helped me out. It was a team effort today since we had to play all 40 minutes.”
Bueckers also impressed, even though she looked frustrated at times. The former POTY had a few shots that she’d normally make rim out, but still reached 26 points and three assists. Her five giveaways were another demonstration of her frustrations, but a 26-point night is just that at the end of the day.
“In a slow game like that, there’s not enough shots to go around,” Auriemma mentioned. “But if you have two players [Bueckers and Edwards] taking 36 of your 56 shots, that’s a lot. I’d like to see them spread around more, but that’s what we needed tonight.”
As for the rest of the team, there wasn’t much going on. The 78-63 win featured no other scorers who surpassed six points, with very little activity from the bench. The starters played over 32 minutes each, and there were bright spots here and there within the back end of that set. KK Arnold had six points and six assists, while Nika Mühl dished out nine assists and played some stellar defense.
“Nika takes tremendous pride in that,” Auriemma noted of her defense. “It’s something she values: getting stops. Unlike other players, she likes playing defense.”
The Red Storm did their best to hold an early lead with a pair of buckets from Jillian Archer. But it was short-lived. Bueckers snatched Unique Drake’s shot in mid-air then hit Edwards in stride for a thunderous and-one.
St. John’s again closed the gap to three, as Bueckers used a jumper and a layup to get the Huskies back up to five. Every time the Huskies tried to create a cushion, the Johnnies answered, coming as close as one early in the second quarter.
Perhaps the Red Storm made it a little too close. That woke the Huskies up, as they went on a 14-1 run, with nine from Bueckers and Edwards. Even though they couldn’t stop turning the ball over, Connecticut led by 13 at the half, with Edwards’ point total already up to 19.
It was hard for either side to find much of a flow in the third, with a committed seemingly every possession. UConn ballooned their lead to 20 thanks to more excellence from Edwards, but it was right back down to 12 after a St. John’s 8-0 run.
The Johnnies continued to pour it on into the final frame with two layups, narrowing their deficit to seven. Bueckers tacked on seven straight points, putting the Huskies out of reach for good as they escaped with a 15-point win.
Connecticut will next suit up in Hartford, Conn., this Wednesday against Seton Hall. It’s another return game against a squad they beat convincingly and will be coach Geno Auriemma’s chance to pick up his 1200th win.