Defense has been a major factor in UConn’s ascent to the No. 1 ranking. The Huskies have allowed just 49.6 points per game over the last 16 games since suffering their only loss at Arkansas.
San Antonio — One of the first games the UConn women's basketball team played at Gampel Pavilion this season, Chris Dailey remembers it being "dead silent" in the arena.
"With no crowd it's very easy to tell when there's communication (on defense)," said Dailey, who filled in for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament this week for head coach Geno Auriemma with Auriemma testing positive for COVID-19.
"(Tuesday against Syracuse) was different. I think that started with E (Evina Westbrook). Her voice. I could hear it the entire time. A lot of communication within the group. We just covered everything up (that Syracuse did)."
Top-seeded UConn didn't have much choice but to improve on defense if it wanted to be where it is today, getting ready to play No. 5 Iowa on Saturday (1 p.m., Ch. 8) in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. The Huskies (26-1) gave up 90 points in the their only loss of the season Jan. 28 at Arkansas.
Since then they've given up an average of 49.6 points over 16 games. Junior Christyn Williams shut down three of the Big East's best players in succession in the league tournament in Leilani Correa of St. John's (3-for-18, seven points), Maddy Siegrist of Villanova (1-for-10, 3 points) and Selena Lott of Marquette (1-for-5, 2 points).
On Tuesday, posts Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards contained 6-foot-7 Syracuse center Kamilla Cardoso of Syracuse.
Next up will be the uptempo offense of Iowa. The Hawkeyes average 86.6 points per game, second in the nation.
"Really since our loss to Arkansas, our communication on defense and offense has been amazing," Williams said. "We knew that was part of why we lost. Our communication was so poor in that game and we knew that we had to grow in that area of the game to be the team we want to be.
"We've gotten a lot better at communication. Just to be more conscious about it and to really focus on talking on the court. It sounds easy but it's actually hard because there's a lot of things that go on throughout the game, whether it's because you're tired or, you know, different things. You really just have to focus on it."
Who's who of coaching
The NCAA sent a list of Sweet 16 coaches available for virtual interviews Thursday and Friday. Coaches whose games were scheduled for Saturday, including UConn's Auriemma, spoke Thursday. Coaches with Sunday games spoke Friday.
The list was nothing short of impressive, including the game's top two wins leaders all-time in Auriemma and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer.
Thursday's roster: Wes Moore (N.C. State), Kim Barnes Arico (Michigan), Lisa Bluder (Iowa), Kim Mulkey (Baylor), Auriemma, Gary Blair (Texas A&M), Teri Moren (Indiana) and Adia Barnes (Arizona).
Scheduled for interview sessions Friday were VanDerveer, Dawn Staley (South Carolina), Amaka Agugua-Hamilton (Missouri State), Nell Fortner (Georgia Tech), Brenda Frese (Maryland), Jeff Walz (Louisville), Vic Schaefer (Texas) and Kelly Graves (Oregon).
Team Geno has a combined 5,024 career victories compared to 3,697 for the other group.
Friday's group has three U.S. Olympic women's basketball coaches, though, with VanDerveer (1996), Fortner (2000) and Staley (present), to just one for Thursday's reps. Auriemma led the U.S. to gold medals in 2012 and 2016.
Of the coaches on the list with the fewest victories? No worries there either, in terms of accomplishments. Arizona's Barnes has accumulated just 86 wins in her coaching career so far at her alma mater, but as a player for the Wildcats she is second alltime in scoring with 2,237 points.
Taurasi on Bueckers
UConn great Diana Taurasi calls Paige Bueckers, a freshman for the Huskies, “the best player in basketball already.”
“For the simple fact she can pass,” said Taurasi in an interview for Togethxr, a recently launched media company for women which has another former UConn legend in Sue Bird as a co-founder. “She makes really hard passes look really easy and she makes really easy passes look easy. That alone sets her apart from every other player in college.”
Bueckers was named Friday to the John Wooden Award All-America Team, as announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. She was joined by Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Dana Evans (Louisville), Rhyne Howard (Kentucky) and NaLyssa Smith (Baylor).
Taurasi, a three-time national champion at UConn and three-time WNBA champion with the Phoenix Mercury, said freshman Bueckers has way more confidence than she did at that age.
“I was in the doghouse. I was like the water girl. I was, you know, doing chores for the seniors,” Taurasi said, smiling. “We were in way different boats. I wasn't even on the team, really, until everyone got hurt. Then (Auriemma) was like, ‘You, come over here.'
“Paige, the level she's playing at right now as a freshman, I mean it's incredible. You don't play that efficiently and with that much confidence as a rookie, as a freshman, at Connecticut.”
Quotable
UConn's Auriemma on his return to the team after missing 10 days due to a positive COVID-19 test: "I hope I don't screw anything up. They've been really good without me."