The sixth-ranked UConn women’s basketball team (15-2, 6-0) will travel to Queens to take on Saint John’s (11-5, 1-4) Wednesday evening in Carnesecca Arena. The game will be broadcasted on SNY, with coverage starting at 6:30 p.m.
The Huskies are 6-0 in conference play, outscoring opponents by an average of 27.2 points per game in that span. Victories over Georgetown (35), Marquette (32), Villanova (31) and Xavier (54) have all come by over 30 points, with two additional conferences wins coming by 26 to Providence and 18 to Georgetown.
The Huskies most recently moved up a spot from No. 7 to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 rankings, notching the program’s 567th appearance inside the AP top-10 (second all time – Tennessee).
Saint John’s lost four in a row (all Big East games) before grabbing its first conference win of the season over Xavier on Saturday. Kylie Lavelle scored a season-high 23 points in the win, shooting 75% from the field and 66% from deep. Outside of a loss to Harvard, the Red Storm went perfect in the non-conference schedule.
Connecticut leads the all-time series against Saint John’s 21-2. Both losses to the Johnnies have come within the last 12 years, with the most recent being a five point defeat in 2023 that gave the Red Storm win number 20 on the season.
Both teams make an effort to run through its defense, with the Huskies leaning on a stiff full court press to rattle ball handlers and the Johnnies allowing over 70 points just twice this season.
Saint John’s defends the three-ball very well, allowing just 29.2% of attempts to hit this season. The struggles as of late (38.2% allowed in the last five games) is something Connecticut could look to take advantage of early, with Geno Auriemma mentioning earlier in the season that he wants roughly one-third of the team’s points to come from behind the arc.
The real focus for the Huskies will be exploiting the Red Storm’s lack of height in the front court – as well as the backcourt – with four starters being listed as five-foot-seven or shorter. The Johnnies’ starting center, senior Phoenix Gedeon, is listed at six-foot even.
As a team, Saint John’s ranks in seventh percentile – nationally – in offensive rebound percentage (24.8%). Conversely, UConn ranks in the 92nd percentile in defensive rebounding, with a hardy mark of 74.6%.
Diving into both team’s shooting profiles, the Red Storm allow nearly 65% of field goal attempts to sink at the rim and over 40% of shots from the paint to fall – both well below the D-I averages at those respective marks, via CBB Analytics.
The Huskies are shooting over 70% at the rim and 57.1% from the paint, products of a ball screen-centric offense. Exploiting these mismatches will be key for Connecticut, with Paige Bueckers likely being out.
Look for a big game from Sarah Strong down low and for the Huskies to get the ball to Jana El Alfy early. Developing the confidence of El Alfy will be crucial for February bouts against Tennessee and South Carolina.