The seventh-ranked UConn women’s basketball team (15-2, 6-0) found themselves down eight points in the first quarter to unranked Georgetown (8-8, 1-4) on Saturday afternoon.
That was before fourth-year guard Azzi Fudd exploded for five three pointers and 21 points, aiding an offensive revival in the second and third quarters that powered the Huskies to an 18-point win inside Entertainment & Sports Arena.
Fudd’s 61.5% (8/13) mark from the field falls just shy of her 64% (9/14) showing on Wednesday against Xavier, but the veteran guard has compiled two straight 20-plus point performances in a row, both of which without teammate Paige Bueckers in the lineup.
“I wish she went into every game going ‘I wanna get ten tonight,’” said Geno Auriemma post-game. “That would make me happy, because she can.”
Fudd’s performance wasn’t the only one of note, as freshman Sarah Strong (16) and sophomore Ashlynn Shade (12) both scored double digits for the Huskies.
Strong made her impact down low, pulverizing the Georgetown interior on both sides of the ball (nine rebounds, three steals) all afternoon. Shade was efficient off the pick and roll jumper and was a tough out defensively, racking up two blocks, one steal and five defensive rebounds.
Morgan Cheli and KK Arnold were also defensive figureheads. The two combined for eight defensive rebounds and worked together to force two turnovers in trapping scenarios.
“Morgan just has a nose for the ball… she just goes and finds it,” said Auriemma.
The Hoyas ripped away momentum from the start after Kaitlyn Chen scored the first points of the night on an underhanded finish at the rim. Junior guard Victoria Rivera answered the Chen basket and Ariel Jenkins added to the lead with a three pointer the possession after.
Strong and Shade added two a piece to reclaim the lead before Georgetown went on its biggest run of the afternoon, an 11-2 straight shot that put the Hoyas up eight at the 4:42 mark. Rivera, Jayden McBride and Khadee Hession (the game’s leading scorer) all contributed three pointers during the run.
Fudd and the Huskies fought right back, finding the rim on one end and forcing a turnover on the other to find themselves down six at the first media timeout. Georgetown had started 4/6 from deep, which prompted Auriemma to insert Arnold into the lineup for Chen.
“The confidence that she’s playing with right now is what’s way different from last year,” Auriemma said.
And is that evident. Arnold substituted in and alongside Shade and Cheli on the perimeter, held Georgetown scoreless for over three-and-a-half minutes. Arnold created havoc for Hoyas’ leading scorer Kelsey Ransom, holding the lead guard behind the three point line for consecutive possessions before forcing a turnover and turning to the crowd for energy.
“I feel like she’s grown a lot, confidence wise and as a leader,” said Fudd post-game.
After Strong’s put back at the buzzer went through, Connecticut found itself down just one and riding the coattails of a 9-2 run of its own.
Chen rose up at the rim to start the second quarter and the Huskies took the lead.
Chen and Hession (22 total points) traded blows on ensuing possessions, as a Hession three was answered by a Chen jumper, which resulted in another Hession three on the following possession.
Strong muscled a rebound from Kaliya Myricks and found Fudd down low to tie the game yet again, before the Huskies ended the half of a 12-7 run which included baskets from Jana El Alfy, Arnold and Fudd.
Connecticut took a five point lead into the break despite shooting over 20% better from the field, leading Georgetown 38-33.
The Huskies leaned on its vaunted full court press defense starting in the third, forcing a turnover off an inbound (Strong and Chen combining) which led to a Fudd three pointer.
Hession did her best to keep the Hoyas in the game, but the offensive machine of the Huskies was too powerful to stop. After Cheli worked over the arms of Hession down low, the UConn nestled into an 11-point lead midway through the third.
It would never get much closer than that, with Connecticut leading by 14 at the end of the period and by as many as 21 early in the fourth.
The staunch Husky defense also helped during that stretch, holding Georgetown to a 2/12, 2:42 scoring drought to end the game.
One of the stories of the afternoon was the Huskies ability to halt Ransom. Usually a crafty scorer – especially down low – the Connecticut defense held her to an average of eight points and 3.5 assists across two meetings this season.
The Huskies will next be in action on Wednesday, marching to Queens to take on Saint John’s.