STORRS, CT — Redshirt senior Paige Bueckers shot 8/8 from the field, made three triples and scored 19 first half points as the second-ranked Huskies defeated D-II Fort Hays State, 89-49 on Sunday afternoon.
The Huskies stretched the lead throughout the entire second half, leading by as many as 47 points with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter, as Bueckers – 27-9-2 – sat most of the final period along with freshman forward Sarah Strong.
The Huskies drew first blood after Kaitlyn Chen sliced through the Tiger defense and into the lane for her first (unofficial) points as a Husky. Bueckers scored her first basket after Chen forced a turnover that resulted in a fast-break score, and the Huskies opened the game with a 10-0 lead 5:04 into the first quarter.
The Tigers missed the first eight team attempts from the field but got on the board after Avery Lowe hit a mid-range jumper, and the Tigers ended the first quarter on an 11-5 run over the course of the final four minutes.
Jana El Alfy saw her first game action as a Husky midway through the first quarter, substituting in for redshirt sophomore Ice Brady. The Egyptian native was given an opportunity to score right away, but the pass was picked off and the Tigers took it the other way. El Alfy was strong on the offensive glass, nabbing four offensive rebounds – and nine total – over the course of her 11:42 of gametime, but found herself in foul trouble early, picking up four total personal fouls and two over the course of 10 seconds.
“We have to be smarter about how we manage our fouls, you know, and we just commit some silly ones,” Auriemma said post-game. The team picked up 18 fouls, with El Alfy and Ice Brady both notching four a piece.
After a 1/8 start from behind the arc, the Huskies ended the first half shooting 63% (5/8) from three, which was started after Bueckers took a step back jumper as the shot clock expired to put the Huskies up 18-11.
After freshman Allie Ziebell got on the board on her fifth attempt from three, the Huskies began a dominating 24-3 run to end the first half. Sophomore Ashlynn Shade buried a triple from the corner and scored from under the backboard following a Tiger turnover to widen the gap to 31-17. Sarah Strong then swiped the ball and ran coast-to-coast to widen the margin to 18, and took a Kaitlyn Chen pass to the basket on the following possession to break open the game at the end of the first half.
Bueckers scored the final five points of the half as the Huskies ended on a 17-0 run over the course of the final 4:13, shooting 9/11 from the field and holding the Tigers to under eight shots on the basket.
Shade started the second half scoring with a pick-pocket-turned-layup on the other end, and after Bueckers muscled down a rebound, Shade scored again under the hoop. The Huskies were strong on the glass all afternoon, outscoring the Tigers 42-18 in the paint and out-rebounding Fort Hays State by 20 boards.
On the next possession, Bueckers then found Strong at the top of the key with a behind the back pass, who swung it to Chen on the opposite wing and then to Shade in the corner in an impressive display of cohesion.
After sophomore Qadence Samuels’ and El Alfy’s first points, the Huskies led by 31 points with just under a minute and a half remaining in the third. Samuels broke through in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points and nabbing five rebounds in a hardy effort off the bench.
The Huskies outscored Fort Hays State by 14 points in the fourth quarter, spearheaded by tough defensive interior play and a strong effort from inside the arc on offense.
Although redshirt junior guard Azzi Fudd was seen warming up with the team, she did not log any playing time. Along with Fudd, Morgan Cheli (Fr.), Caroline Ducharme (R-Jr.), Ayanna Patterson (R-So.), Aubrey Griffin (R-Sr.) and KK Arnold (So.) all did not play. Auriemma said postgame that he is confident that Fudd will be back for the opener against Boston University on Thursday and that holding her out of today’s scrimmage was merely precautionary.
The No. 2 ranked Huskies open the regular season this Thursday in Hartford, hosting the Boston University Terriers in the XL Center to start coach Auriemma’s 40th season at the helm in Storrs.
Correction: Auriemma is confident that Arnold will be back for the opener, not Fudd. Fudd’s status is still in question.