Communication and on-ball defense. Those two things stood out in the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team’s 105-39 win over Southern Connecticut State on Sunday.
They worked in conjunction to bottleneck the Southern Connecticut offense all afternoon. Missed defensive assignments were few and far between. On-ball pressure terrorized the Owls from baseline to baseline. The Huskies nearly forced as many turnovers (32) as they allowed points (39) in their first action in the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena.
“That’s a big focal point for our team, being the aggressor on defense” KK Arnold said post-game. “That creates for our transition game and offensive game. It really starts on that [the defensive] end.”
It felt as though every player took the form of Arnold on the defensive end of the floor; slapping the ball free if it was held for more than three seconds, diving for it once it jarred loose and throwing it down court for an easy fast break basket.
“It was better,” head coach Geno Auriemma said when asked about his team’s defensive communication on Sunday. “It’s not easy when you’re trying to incorporate a lot of new players. The other thing: when you don’t have those two voices [Paige Bueckers and Kaitlyn Chen], you can hear the quiet.”
Connecticut compiled 36 points off turnovers, 17 of which came in the first frame.
And it got out of hand early. The Owls scored first (a runner from Rheyna Steinauer) before surrendering 30 of the next 33 points, including a 20-0 run across the final 6:49 of the first quarter.
Eight of those points were courtesy of Azzi Fudd, who hit on two of her four first quarter 3-point attempts – both off dribble handoffs along the wings.
Fudd’s 21 points led all scorers. She hit on five 3- pointers total, dished four assists and had a plus/minus of +59 in 24 minutes.
Serah Williams scored the first Husky points of the afternoon at the charity stripe, cashing in on both attempts after she was fouled on a putback. Williams finished with 14 points on 6/8 shooting, chipping in five rebounds and three steals to go with it.
“When Serah wants to score, Serah’s going to try to get up a shot,” Auriemma said. “She probably doesn’t know a lot of our sets. I think the play she knows the best is ‘throw it to me.’”
Fudd scored her first five points within a minute of each other, hitting a 3-pointer before running the court in transition to find the rim. Arnold hit her only field goal of the half 20 seconds later, a three pointer from the left wing.
Sophomore wing Allie Ziebell set the net on fire midway through the second period, scoring 10 points within a five-minute stretch between the first and second quarters. Ziebell finished with 13 points on 5/10 shooting, blocking a shot and snagging a rebound in the process.
“I think that the things that she’s good at are the thing she did today,” Auriemma said of the sophomore. “She’s a really, really good shooter, she’s pretty smart, she’s quicker than she looks and gets that first step by you.”
Ziebell attempted 40% of her field goals from the paint today, the product of downhill driving from the perimeter stoked by a hot start from three.
“The first two weeks of preseason she was probably going to be in the starting lineup,” Auriemma added. “And then all of a sudden she was sick, missed about four or five days, and never really recovered her sense of ‘I’m really good.’”
By the end of the half, Auriemma resorted to testing alternative lineups. Kelis Fisher, Carolina Ducharme, Ashlynn Shade, Blanca Quinonez and Williams ended the half. Ducharme handled ball handling duties until halfcourt.
The third quarter saw Fudd share the court with Heckel, Ziebell, Quinonez and Ayanna Patterson (at center).
Shade added eight points on ¾ shooting (2/3 from deep) in the third. The junior worked in conjunction with Fudd to create opportunities in transition, cashing in twice from below the rim in a lopsided third period.
But Sunday’s scrimmage didn’t count, and Auriemma knows that.
“We want to find out what we’ve got,” Auriemma said about the team’s arduous November schedule. “People are going to be put in somewhat uncomfortable situations [in November]. I think that’s also good.”
He talked a lot about swagger in November; who has it (if anyone)?
“We had it the whole NCAA Tournament,” Auriemma said. “Did it come from Paige [Bueckers] and Kaitlyn [Chen] and did it graduate from them, or did it stick? That’s why you play these games. That’s why you play the schedule we play.”
UConn’s season opener versus No. 20 Louisville, which was moved from Germany to Washington D.C., will be played on Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m.