Before their matchup against Xaiver on Wednesday night, Geno Auriemma announced to the media that Paige Bueckers would not be in the starting lineup after suffering a lower body sprain against Villanova on Sunday. Thus, the No. 7 UConn Women’s Basketball team had to play the Musketeers without their leading scorer.
However, the Huskies had no problem dismantling the Musketeers and the leader of blocks in the Big East, Loren Christie, with a final score of 81-27.
After suffering almost the same exact injury and returning in December, Azzi Fudd found her groove notching 23 points and was 9-14 from the field. Despite having a tough beginning four minutes of play, she felt she had a second wind after a brief time of rest.
“I don’t know what it was, but I caught my second wind as soon as I sat down for a second, so I just needed that quick breather.” Fudd said to the media.
After having so much time away from the game after various injuries, this matchup was crucial for the Virginia native to gain confidence.
“I think the biggest thing is like having like I’m building confidence in my knee again and being able to trust myself.” The five-foot-eleven guard said to the media. “So, not just wanting to see the three-point line and shoot but be able to attack and drive and be aggressive. I think that also just helps everyone else around me, being more of a threat.”
In addition to Fudd’s heroics, another player who came out of the woodwork was freshman Allie Ziebell, who had not seen her time to shine, since the three-point contest on First night.
The Wisconsin native shined in the second half of the game and attained a career high of 17 points and was 5-9 from beyond the arc.
“To Allie’s credit for the most part, she knows who she is.” Auriemma said on the Wisconsin native’s performance. “She’s [Ziebell] getting better defensively, but I hope we can play her a lot down the stretch.”
Auriemma compared the guard to former UConn player Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, who played for the Huskies from 2011-15 and is holds the record in NCAA division one basketball for three-pointers made with 398.
Auriemma flashed back to Mosqueda-Lewis’ freshman season and how people would often question her lengthy amount of playing time, for one instance when she played 31 minutes in a game.
“She [Mosqueda-Lewis] said, somebody said, ‘Why should play 31 minutes?’ I said, ‘Because in a four-minute stretch you blow the game wide open.’ And I think Allie is the same way.” Auriemma said to the media.
In addition to multiple players stepping up offensively, the team saw a lot of growth on the defensive side of the court.
At the half, Connecticut kept Xavier to only making 25% of their shots from the field and 20 turnovers, regardless of Xavier’s height and physicality.
In the third quarter, Connecticut’s starting center Jana El Alfy notched nine points alone to solidify the Huskies lead, while also maintaining the consistent defense the squad showed in the early moments of the game.
“Anytime she has success, anytime things go over the way, I just think that fuels her for the next time.” Auriemma said to media personnel, “I don’t know that there’s a secret formula. It’s just she needs to play […]and hope that we keep getting more each and every game.
The Huskies have been searching for red-hot results from up and down and their roster. With a 54-point lead win on Wednesday, it was a testament to the program’s talent and consistency they have had all season long and will continue to have.
“Obviously, they know if we have any chance to do something great this year, Paige has to be a part of it. But that doesn’t mean that they should pass up opportunities to get better, and I thought they took advantage.” Auriemma said to the media about the team’s performance.
Next up, the Huskies will travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Georgetown Hoyas Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. from McDonough Gymnasium and will be broadcasted on SNY.