STORRS – “I’m sure there’s a few more points in her future,” head coach of the sixth-ranked UConn Women’s Basketball team, Geno Auriemma, said to media personnel after red shirt senior Paige Bueckers notched her 2,000th point against Seton Hall.
Little did Auriemma know that he was subtly foreshadowing an assertive game, not only Bueckers’ game, but a majority of his roster, as the Huskies took on the Villanova Wildcats on Wednesday night and finished with a 100-57 win.
I think that’s just what this team is about, everybody being selfless.
Paige Bueckers
In the first half alone, the Minnesota native tallied a total of 19 points, five assists and four rebounds, already surpassing the 15 points she scored the last time the Huskies played the Wildcats, where Bueckers after suffered an injury in the third quarter.
Bueckers and her squad dominated and took the reins of the game from tip-off to the end of the second quarter.
“For her to go off like she did today, it’s infectious and everybody starts to catch it […] she has that effect. I’m really excited about where she is right now,” Auriemma said talking about Bueckers commanding start.
Despite the Wildcat’s notching the first two points off the game with a layup from Denae Carter, Connecticut went on a 12-0 run, whilst playing small ball.
Auriemma kept red shirt freshman Jana El Alfy in the game for the first few minutes, but eventually swapped the 6-foot-5 center out for 6-foot-2 Morgan Cheli at the center position, as the Wildcats’ height would not match up to that of the Huskies.
Auriemma used Cheli and Sarah Strong interchangeably at the five and it proved to be the common denominator as the Huskies closed out the first quarter with double the points over Villanova and Bueckers was up to 14 points and two rebounds.
History repeated itself in the second frame of the matchup as the Huskies did not take their foot off the gas pedal.
The Huskies forced the Wildcats to make four turnovers with persistent defense while also maintaining their steady, consistent offense they showed in the first quarter.
The “big three” that consists of Bueckers, Strong and Azzi Fudd combined for a total of 39 points and the Huskies finished the first half shooting 70% from the field.
To start the second half, Bueckers and Strong stood out for the Huskies again, along with graduate transfer Kaitlyn Chen.
Chen kicked off the scoring for the Huskies in the second half and never looked back. The California native finished this Big East matchup with a total of 17 points and two assists.
“There’s no question in my mind on what she is capable of doing,” Auriemma said on the 5-foot-9 guard. “Today she was really, really good; in a lot of ways.”
The Huskies completed the win against the Wildcats, having played all available 12 players on the roster in back-to-back wins. According to Carl Adamec of CT Insider, it’s been six years since Connecticut completed that feat. As the Huskies look to return to the Final Four in April, this will be the program’s secret weapon after only having seven players available to play last season.
“As a competitor, you want to play 40 minutes, you want to play the entire game, but having gone through that and having experienced that, it’s a very different situation to where we are today,” Bueckers said. “I think that’s just what this team is about, everybody being selfless.”
Auriemma emphasized to the media that games where all players contribute and make good decisions are the secret recipe for his program to have success.
“By the decisions that we make, that leads to open shots,” Auriemma said. “We’re making a lot of good decisions right now and that’s going to pay off.”
Combining this win against the Wildcats and their recent win against Seton Hall, the Huskies have combined a scoring differential of 103 points, per UConn Central on Instagram.
As the Huskies look to continue their unbeaten streak in the Big East conference, they are set to take on the Creighton Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon to battle for the top spot in the conference. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and Husky fans can tune in on FOX.