In his intermission interview with SNY, head coach Geno Auriemma emphasized that he wanted his squad to find an offensive rhythm, after their shaky start to the first half.
This pivotal moment came for the Huskies later in the third quarter, when Connecticut found themselves on a 10-0 run versus the Blue Demons.
At that point, each player on the roster was contributing, but especially graduate students Azzi Fudd and Kaitlyn Chen.
Fudd finished the win off notching 17 points, four rebounds and five assists and Chen finished with 17 points as well.
“I think when she’s aggressive and she’s confident, the ball goes in the basket, and she started off the game like that today and it carried over.” Auriemma said to SNY postgame on Chen’s performance.
Despite an off-shooting night from Paige Bueckers, who racked up eight points, the Huskies continued their unbeaten streak in the Big East with an 84-58 win, while also setting an attendance record of 8,305, the most fans ever at any women’s basketball game at Wintrust arena.
Although the Huskies got into the swing of the game eventually, they had to work their way up in the first half. DePaul kicked off the scoring in the first frame with back-to-back three-pointers, as the Huskies struggled to play against DePaul’s full court pressure.
Jorie Allen, the Blue Demons’ leader in points, was a force for her program notching six points in the first quarter and was 3-6 from the field. Allen and her teammate, Taylor Johnson-Matthews played feistily, each racking up six and five points respectively, to prevent the Huskies from showing their habitual offensive strength on the court.
However, freshman Sarah Strong kept her composure for her squad by making space on the hardwood to set up her teammates. Strong finished the first quarter attaining seven points and three rebounds.
In the second quarter, the Huskies’ offense was rushed as they looked to maintain their steady lead, as DePaul started to make their way up to Connecticut on the scoreboard.
At the end of the first half the score was 40-24 and the Huskies were up by ten possessions.
“Down there, we’re a little bit disjointed.” Auriemma said to SNY at intermission when he was asked about his team’s offense and DePaul’s aggressiveness. “Those guys have been aggressive right from the beginning, we just got to get a little more movement and move them a little bit.”
Luckily in the second half, UConn stepped it up and found their way to notch the win.
Right out of the gates, the Huskies looked like a different team on the court in the third frame. Fudd kicked things off with a three-pointer by way of a screen from Sarah Strong, creating space. This set the tone for the Huskies for the rest of the game.
The Huskies thrived beyond the arc against the Blue Demons and finished the game with a 55% three-point field goal percentage.
The third quarter was the pivotal moment the squad needed. At the under-five timeout, the Huskies were outshooting the Blue Demons 13-7. The Huskies used DePaul’s four turnovers to their advantage to continue racking up points on the board.
As Auriemma used the younger players in his lineup for the fourth quarter, the offense dominated. The program scored 19 points in total, 12 of those points coming from off the bench.
Three of those points were highlights for the program when Jana El Alfy notched her first career three-pointer for the Huskies in the midway point of the fourth frame.
All in all, despite a gritty first half of the game where two players stepped up, the squad rounded themselves out to finish the game as a team.
“It’s February this weekend and we’re still not where we need to be.” Auriemma said postgame to SNY. “We still got a lot of work to do.”
With matchups against Tennessee and South Carolina on deck for Connecticut, it will be imperative for the Huskies to iron out the kinks, especially by the boards with players like El Alfy and Ice Brady at the squad’s disposal.
The Huskies will commence the February portion of their schedule as they are set to take on Butler on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. from the XL Center and will be broadcast on SNY.