Auriemma closes in
Win puts coach within 1 victory of Summitt at No. 2
STORRS — Prior to Tuesday’s game against DePaul, coach Geno Auriemma predicted that his UConn women’s basketball team would need to convert and outpace the Blue Demons on the offensive end. With UConn’s defense a work in progress and DePaul’s defense its weak spot, that seemed like the most logical path toward victory.
But how the top-25 matchup in front of a fanless crowd at Gampel Pavilion ultimately transpired was quite different. Fourth-ranked UConnstalled offensively for much of the game but held No. 18 DePaul to a season-low 52 points to come out with a 75-52 win in its first game this season against a ranked opponent.
Auriemma now has 1,097 career victories, one away from tying Pat Summitt for second place on the all-time wins list, which he can reach as soon as Jan. 7 when the team plays Baylor. Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer surpassed Summitt’s record earlier this month and is currently the leader with 1,101 career wins.
Yet again, the Huskies struggled with their outside shooting with the team, aside from freshman Paige Bueckers (4-for-6), going 4-for-21 from deep. But UConn’s 1-2 frontcourt punch of junior Olivia Nelson-Ododa and freshman Aaliyah Edwards mostly dominated the paint, where they outscored DePaul 38-12. The Huskies also scored 15 points off second-chance opportunities, tying a season-high.
“It’s definitely not ideal,” NelsonOdoda said of the team’s perimeter shooting. “We want our shots to be hitting, but when they’re not, it’s crucial to have not just me but everybody offensive rebounding and being able to get those second-chance opportunities. As we continue to shoot, they’re definitely going to fall over the course of the season, so I have no worries about that.”
Overall, UConn shot a seasonlow 40.8 percent from the field, the first time it shot below 50 percent
this season, and just a 29.6 percent clip on 3s.
“I think we get pretty good shots,” Auriemma said. “Do I think we can be a better shooting team than we are right now? Yes. We should be. We can be. But maybe we’re not. And maybe I just keep thinking we’re going to be. I don’t know.”
But UConn’s offensive issues were mostly masked by its impressive defensive effort. DePaul’s 52 points were the lowest point total the program has scored since Dec. 1, 2016, also against Connecticut. DePaul (5-3, 2-1) has now dropped its third game of the season against a ranked opponent, previously losing to then-No. 13 Texas A&Mand No. 2 Louisville.
“I always call UConn’s defense their dirty little secret,” DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. “UConn is always, if not the toughest team, it’s certainly one of the two toughest teams we play against year in and year out that makes it difficult to get good, open looks. And they did that again tonight.”
“I think for what we were trying to do, we got a lot accomplished,” Auriemma said. “We made a lot of really, really good decisions defensively.”
Bueckers and NelsonOdoda led UConn (6-0, 5-0 Big East) in scoring with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Nelson-Ododa added 14 rebounds (seven offensive) and Bueckers six rebounds and four steals. Junior Christyn Williams (14 points), Edwards (11 points) and redshirt junior Evina Westbrook (10 points) also reached double figures.
The teams traded leads early on, with DePaul hitting four early threes and Williams scoring her 1,000th career point not even two minutes into the game, becoming the 49th Husky in program history to do so. UConn built a four-point cushion going into the second thanks to an 8-2 run to finish the period, with four points apiece from Westbrook and Nelson-Ododa.
The Huskies extended their lead to double figures at the 7:37 mark of the second period following a layup and free throw from Edwards, and a late layup from Mir McLean send them into the break with a 38-27 advantage.
DePaul cut the deficit to six early in the third before Nelson- Ododa dominated the offensive glass and notched five straight points to provide UConn some breathing room.
The Blue Demons hung around, but 11 combined points from Nelson-Ododa and Edwards allowed the Huskies to pull ahead by 14 going into the fourth.
The Blue Demons went scoreless for four minutes early in the final period, allowing UConn to score 10 unanswered points and put the game away.
UConn has an extended break before its next scheduled matchup, when it travels to Waco, Texas, to face No. 7 Baylor on Jan. 7. Later that month, DePaul will get a second crack at UConn when it hosts the Huskies in Chicago Jan. 31 for a Big East showdown nationally televised on FOX.
“I still love having them in the league, and I love to play against good, quality competition,” said Bruno, whose Blue Demons have won five of the last seven Big East Tournament titles. “Whenit gets to January 31, we’ll be ready for another good tough, hard-fought game.”
Notes
Recent Husky alum and 2020 WNBA Rookie of the Year Crystal Dangerfield was in attendance at Gampel and announced UConn’s starting lineup prior to the game.