When the Huskies arrived at the XL Center on Thursday night, it was just their last game of the season in Hartford for the 2024-25 season. However, when they left, they were named the Big East regular season champions after notching a dominant 72-53 win over No. 22 Creighton.
On the offensive side of things, Sarah Strong was the catalyst for the program racking up 22 points and nine rebounds on the night.
“Strong has been really key in both games,” head coach of the Creighton women’s basketball team Jim Flanery said about Strong in their two recent matchups. “They get her some pretty easy looks, and we have to switch a lot just because of how well and how quickly they run that action.”
Despite the feisty finish, the Huskies struggled to make their way, especially in the beginning of the first quarter. The Bluejays kicked things off to a scorching start, notching the first six points of the game over a six-point stretch.
However, with a driving layup off the fast break, Strong silenced the clapping from the crowd to notch the first Husky points of the game.
From there, with a triple from KK Arnold and a pullup jumper from Azzi Fudd, the Huskies took their first lead of the game 11-10 to close out the first frame.
Connecticut’s momentum continued on in the second quarter with the Huskies going on a 20-3 run after previously falling behind 8-0 at the beginning of the game.
What prompted this dominant stretch was the full court press and consistent defense put on by sophomore Ashlynn Shade and graduate student Aubrey Griffin.
In addition to this feisty play and without Creighton’s best player Morgan Maly not out on the court, the Blue Jays offense started to stagger.
This strong defensive play is something that the Huskies have been working to build on game after game.
“I think we’ve come a long way in terms of our communication,” said Bueckers on the defense the Huskies put on in the second frame. “In the way we talk and help each other, creating runs, a lot of actions that forces you to talk, and if you don’t, they maximize on your mistakes.”
Heading into halftime, the Huskies held a comfortable 38-22 lead and forced 14 turnovers for the Blue Jays.
Coming out of the locker room into the second half of the game, the Huskies were locked and loaded, giving Bueckers her time to shine, that being her ability to set up her teammates for scoring opportunities.
As of late, Bueckers has been racking up assists in her recent games and Thursday night was no different. The Minnesota native notched a total of seven assists. According to Auriemma, this has been something the team has been working on in practice.
“Paige [Bueckers] is playing the way she wants to play, and it’s actually better for us to play that way. So that’s, that’s what those numbers reflect, really,” Auriemma said.
Throughout the second half of the game, the Huskies maintained their composure, despite only notching nine points in the final quarter of the game.
In total, the Huskies shot 47% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc, but their defense is what kept them in this game.
Even though this being the program’s 31st Big East regular season championship, it still feels unique for the squad compared to the other years.
“We still have to win this weekend, but if they [Creighton] would have won tonight, then we’d be sharing the title,” said Auriemma. “So, it wasn’t like we were playing the eighth-place team or the tenth-place team. And you know, we had to do it the hard way. We had to be a really good team, so that’s unusual.”
Next up, the Huskies will host the Marquette Golden Eagles at Gampel Pavilion for Senior Night and their last game of the regular season. The program will honor Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme and Aubrey Griffin. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. If Husky fans cannot make it to the Basketball Capital of the World, they can tune into matchup on FS1.