The No. 10 Connecticut women’s basketball team clinched the Big East regular season title against DePaul on Sunday, meaning their last two games won’t impact their conference race. However, if the Huskies want to lock up a spot as a host in the first weekend of March Madness, these contests are absolutely essential.
The first of the pair is at home against Villanova, a squad tied for third in the Big East. This will be UConn’s final home game, but they could return to campus for the NCAA tournament if all goes well these next few weeks.
The Wildcats have had a decent campaign one year removed from Maddy Siegrist, who is arguably the best player to put on a Villanova women’s uniform. They’re 17-10 on the season and currently sit on the wrong side of the bubble, but a win at UConn would definitely change things. Their best win at the moment is against Richmond, the best team in the Atlantic 10, while they also swept Marquette, a team that has taken a swift decline from their 12-0 start.
One of Villanova’s biggest weaknesses is their lack of 3-point shooting ability. None of their major contributors are efficient from beyond the arc, but one could also argue that they really only have one major contributor.
That would be Lucy Olsen, who muscles the team through nearly every game they play. She averages 23.6 points per night, which is roughly equal to the combined totals of the second, third and fourth-highest scorers. Olsen has been the team’s leader in points in each of the last eight games. Simply put, if you can stop Olsen, it’s game over for the Wildcats. She dishes out a team-high four assists, but doesn’t have very many options to pass it to.
The best option of the bunch is Christina Dalce, who has been excellent on the boards. Dalce has showed some similarities to UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards as the only person there to grab rebounds when a shot misses. Of those in the rotation, she is the only true forward — and she’s still only 6-foot-2. She averages nine points and 10 boards per game on an inefficient 43% from the field. Along with the guards needing to stop Olsen, Edwards will need to contain Dalce, just as she did last time.
When the teams played last at the Finn in Philadelphia, Connecticut succeeded in both dimensions. Olsen was not afraid to shoot, taking 17 shots, but she only hit six on her way to 15 points. Dalce was similarly stifled, managing seven points and three rebounds. It wasn’t a tremendous win for the Huskies, however, as they didn’t truly pull away until the fourth quarter.
It seems like a definite that UConn is going to get something exceptional out of Edwards and Paige Bueckers. Edwards just continued her insane run against the Depaul Blue Demons, scoring 23 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Bueckers had a comparably incredible outing, scoring 30 points essentially without using her deep shooting ability. The former National Player of the Year made a single three and either finished inside or drew a foul throughout the night. The question is who else will step up.
Ashlynn Shade has been the team’s most effective freshman this year — and it’s come out of necessity. Her strong shooting stroke has been essential for the team, though it has cooled off a bit more lately. Even with Shade owning a 36% mark on the season, she’s hit on 30% in her past five games. Not terrible by any stretch, but now would be a great time to improve on the confidence in her stroke ahead of the postseason.
KK Arnold would benefit even more heavily from confidence and by extension a willingness to shoot. She’s shot 34% from beyond the arc on the year, but has looked uncharacteristically unwilling to take open looks lately. Arnold is just one for nine across the past three games, which likely hasn’t helped. The freshman has always seemed to have a preference for driving, but taking and knocking down shots would go a long way in opening up her game.
The contest can be viewed on SNY and will tip off at 7 p.m.