About a minute into the second half, the No. 15 UConn women’s basketball team found themselves in a hole. Their offense had not scored in over four minutes, head coach Geno Auriemma had received a technical foul, and the No. 21 Creighton Bluejays were on a 13-0 run dating back to the first half. Despite having a sellout XL Center crowd supporting them, it felt like a five-point deficit with 18 minutes left seemed insurmountable.
That’s when redshirt junior Paige Bueckers heated up. Bueckers was one of two Huskies with a team-high eight points at halftime, but it was at a less-than-efficient 3-8 mark. As the redshirt junior took over the game, so did UConn’s offense.
Over the next six minutes, the Huskies went on a 17-0 run and turned a five-point deficit into a double-digit advantage. Creighton pulled within single digits once from there, but never really had a chance as Connecticut collected a critical 73-53 victory.
“Today was one of our more gratifying wins,” Auriemma said after the game. “The first half was a real slog, … Halftime came at the right time.”
When the dust settled in Hartford, Bueckers shot 50% from the floor and led all players with 24 points. Riding off the high of announcing her return for next season, the redshirt junior spearheaded the Husky offense more than once in the second half at a 6-10 mark. The number of highlight-reel shots that she landed, especially in the fourth quarter, kept the XL Center crowd on their feet and impressed everyone who saw them.
“When you get a close game and she makes a few baskets that nobody else in the league can make, that gives them [the Huskies] a mental edge,” Creighton head coach Jim Flanery commented.
Senior forward Aaliyah Edwards only played 27 minutes, but was also a difference-maker with her own 20-piece at a 7-15 clip. What makes her final line even more impressive is that for the first nine minutes, Edwards had almost no path to the hoop from her typical office: the paint. The Bluejays clamped the senior forward down low early and often, and the one great opportunity she had in that span got called back for an offensive foul.
Edwards was just one of many players who started Monday’s matinee sluggish in a clash between the Big East Conference’s two ranked programs. Senior guard Nika Mühl provided UConn with an early spark offensively, but that went away after she crunched down for a few seconds following a Lauren Jensen three. Over a three-minute window, the Huskies missed many good looks and committed several sloppy turnovers that gave the Bluejays more opportunities.
Connecticut only got back in business when Mühl buried her second triple of the game and the senior forward got on the board. The Huskies made up for shooting less than 50% from the field in the second quarter with a relentless defense that forced the Bluejays into several bad looks.
As halftime neared, however, Creighton picked up steam. The Bluejays took a 31-31 deadlock into the locker rooms behind an 8-0 run, capitalizing on a momentum swing after Auriemma’s technical foul. Senior Morgan Maly did the most damage by making one of her two free throws and scoring on Creighton’s ensuing possession. Fellow senior Molly Mogensen tied the game in the paint.
UConn, meanwhile, did not score in the final 3:21 and made just one of their last eight shots. Once Bueckers took over in the third quarter, though, it was a completely different story for the Huskies.
When you get a close game and she makes a few baskets that nobody else in the league can make, that gives them [the Huskies] a mental edge.
Jim Flanery, Head Coach of Creighton’s Women’s Basketball
Across the final nine minutes of the frame, Connecticut shot 10-19 from the floor and created some separation against their Big East foe. Even when the Bluejays thought they had stopped the bleeding, the Huskies kept pouring it on with three straight triples.
Edwards ran into severe foul trouble during that offensive explosion. It provided more of an opening for Bueckers to dominate.
The redshirt junior scored UConn’s first nine points of the final frame, staying on the court until sophomore guard Ines Bettencourt checked in for her with 1:19 left. Bueckers departed to a roar of applause from the capacity crowd as the Huskies secured a 20-point win and at least a share of the Big East regular-season title. The final outcome was much different from the overall tone of this battle.
“It was a grind the whole game, but it was nothing that we were not expecting,” the senior forward explained afterward.
The most unexpected part came on the glass. For the first time this season, Connecticut’s five starters each grabbed at least six rebounds. Two of those five had at least three offensive boards. Shade played all 40 minutes for the first time in three weeks and grabbed a career-best nine rebounds on top of her 15 points. Fellow first-year guard KK Arnold had half of the Huskies’ six steals and dealt out five assists to go with her boards.
“They [Arnold and Shade] have been lifesavers,” Auriemma expressed. “I do not know where we would be without those two.”
The Bluejays are a dangerous team from downtown, but they shot just 6-30 from beyond the arc in Hartford. Maly had half of them and finished with 16 points. Senior Lauren Jensen was the only other Creighton player in double figures with 18. Despite a very disciplined start, the Bluejays turned the ball over more times than UConn and only had seven assists on their 19 field goals. Creighton has been held under 60 points in Big East play three times; the Huskies’ defense is responsible for two of them.
Connecticut goes on their longest break since Christmas with five days between now and their next conference clash. For the Huskies, that contest is in Chicago for a second duel with the DePaul Blue Demons. Tip-off on Sunday is at 6 p.m. EST on CBSSN.