Few style points, but it’s a win
Minus Bueckers and Makurat, No. 3 UConn still routs Georgetown
Storrs — The ball movement of freshman Paige Bueckers, sometimes bordering on wizardry, was missing Saturday afternoon with Bueckers sidelined with an ankle injury. Bueckers averages 5.7 assists per game.
Anna Makurat, third on the team with 3.8 assists, was also out with a lower leg injury.
As a result, the ball wasn't zipping around the perimeter the way it normally is for No. 3 UConn in the Huskies' 72-41 Big East Conference victory over Georgetown at Gampel Pavilion.
"I just want to be muted so I don't say something that's going to get me in trouble," UConn coach Geno Auriemma, asked about the ball movement, said on a Zoom video conference. "It didn't seem to be that same flow. Having two pretty good passers out of the lineup is definitely going to affect your ball movement ... and two really good perimeter shooters."
UConn was 9-for-29 from 3-point range, seeming content to launch shots from long range early on before it got the ball to 6-foot-5 forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa on a regular basis beginning in the third quarter.
"Georgetown just put five guys in the lane and said, 'Shoot it,' and we did," Auriemma said.
Nelson-Ododa finished with 19
points and nine rebounds and Christyn Williams had 17 points, six assists and four steals for the short-handed Huskies (10-0, 8-0). Aubrey Griffin added 15 points and seven rebounds and Evina Westbrook 13 points and nine assists.
Freshman guard Nika Muhl got the first start of her career in place of Bueckers, who leads UConn in points (17.1), as well as assists, although she keeps trying to convince Auriemma that she's a "pass-first" player.
Muhl, averaging 13 minutes per game in her five appearances before Saturday, finished with a career-high six points, three rebounds and three steals. Muhl hit two 3-point field goals.
Auriemma said there's a "better chance than not" that Bueckers will be available for UConn's next game, Thursday at No. 15 Arkansas. Bueckers, who hit a dramatic 3-pointer late in this week's 67-61 victory over No. 25 Tennessee, injured her ankle late in that game.
Auriemma said Bueckers was being evaluated and with a few days off, she should be ready to practice Tuesday or Wednesday. He was unsure of Makurat's status, saying that her leg injury has been lingering.
"It was pretty difficult," Williams said of adjusting to the lineup without Bueckers. "Paige is our starting point guard. I thought we had a lot of players step in and play their role today. I thought (Muhl) adjusted well. Of course, she has a lot to learn and a lot of work to do, but this is a great opportunity for her to come in and play confidently and get our offense flowing and do whatever coach is asking her to do.
"My mindset changed a little bit, just knowing we don't have our PG, just helping Nika out at the PG spot. My mindset changed a little bit, but it was pretty much the same."
Georgetown (1-5, 1-5) has had 11 games canceled or postponed this season due to COVID-19. In addition, the Hoyas had three players opt out due to concerns about the virus.
UConn outscored Georgetown 18-2 in the second quarter for a 39-11 halftime lead, finishing the half on a 12-0 run following a runner by Georgetown's Kelsey Ransom with 7:31 left.
Williams finished the half with 11 points, four assists and three steals for the Huskies and Westbrook and Griffin had eight points each. Westbrook added six assists.
Muhl started the third quarter with a 3-pointer and Westbrook engineered a steal and a layup. The Huskies then went to Nelson-Ododa for four straight baskets, including a 3-pointer. Griffin finished off the third with a three-point play and two more free throws to give UConn a 60-26 lead.
"It's difficult to play when you're missing someone who's such an integral part of your offense," Auriemma said of Bueckers. "I thought they handled it pretty well.
"I think overall it was, like, a horrendous basketball game to watch, the choppiness of it, the lack of flow. Nothing seemed like it came easy. But I thought our defense did a decent job for the most part. Sometimes that's the way it's got to be."