The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Huskies suffer first loss
Bueckers, Westbrook can’t rally UConn past Arkansas
UConn coach Geno Auriemma is willing to play anyone, anywhere, anytime, especially in this COVIDinterrupted season.
It doesn’t always end up working in the Huskies’ favor.
Chelsea Dungee poured in 37 points, Amber Ramirez scored 22, and No. 19 Arkansas upended the third-ranked Huskies 90-87 on Thursday at Bud Walton Arena in a game that was added last week.
“There were a lot of shots that we needed to make, that we had to make, that we didn’t make,” Auriemma
said. “There were shots that they made that were tough shots, and some were wide-open shots.”
That was especially true in the third quarter, when the Razorbacks (12-6) shot 6-of-7 from 3 and outscored the Huskies 31-19, building a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Arkansas, the nation’s top 3-point shooting team, was 13-of-23 from beyond the arc, slightly better than the Huskies (12-of-23).
“I thought there were a lot of defensive breakdowns tonight,” Auriemma said. “An awful lot.”
And yet, the Huskies (10-1) found themselves within one possession with under a minute left after backto-back buckets by Paige Bueckers and Christyn Williams. The Huskies had a chance to tie after Williams rebounded Ramirez’s jumper with two seconds remaining, but she advanced the ball instead of calling timeout. With just 0.3 on the clock following a review, Westbrook’s last-ditch 3 bounced off the rim.
“I said if we rebound and there’s under five seconds, we need a timeout, and then they just forgot they couldn’t dribble,” Auriemma said. “What are you going to do?”
Bueckers, who sat out Saturday’s win over Georgetown with a sprained right ankle, paced the Huskies with 27 points, 14 in the fourth quarter. Evina Westbrook scored 19 to go with seven assists and six rebounds.
“I thought Evina was really, really good the whole game — really good,” Auriemma said. “That’s the best I’ve seen her play since she’s been at Connecticut in every facet of the game. I thought she was terrific. And Paige took over the game for a
long stretch.”
Bueckers and Westbrook combined to score 15 of 17 points during a 17-5 run that flipped a 10- point deficit to open the fourth into a 79-77 lead.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough. Continuing to capitalize on UConn’s miscues, the Razorbacks answered with 10 straight points to go back up eight.
“Kudos to them,” Westbrook said. “They were fighting us the whole game. … We just didn’t do what we
needed to do on the defensive end. People were making really big plays, Paige was knocking down huge shots for us, but defensively we just kind of crumbled at the end.”
Williams, an Arkansas native, contributed 16 points. Olivia Nelson-Ododa had just two points and two rebounds.
The Huskies will look to rebound Sunday (1 p.m.) against DePaul.
Arkansas stormed out of halftime with 11 straight points, turning a two-point deficit into a 52-43 lead. The Huskies went scoreless for 3:22, missing five straight
shots, before a jumper by Bueckers ended the drought. Still, the Razorbacks maintained their momentum, extending it to 65-52 on a layup by Dungee.
The Huskies led 20-13 due to an 18-5 spurt where they hit eight straight shots. Arkansas reclaimed a 28-26 advantage in the second quarter, but a 12-2 run put the Huskies back up eight. An Aubrey Griffin 3-pointer sent UConn into the break ahead 43-41.
REMEMBERING GIGI
As a tribute to Gianna Bryant, the Huskies wore warmup shirts depicting part of the letter she sent them following their Final Four loss in 2017.
“When you think you can’t, UConn,” the shirts read.
Tuesday marked one year since NBA legend Kobe Bryant, 41, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. NOTE: UConn assistant Shea Ralph did not make the trip due to a family obligation . ... Six Arkansas players were unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols, per ESPN’s broadcast . ... The socially distanced sellout crowd of 4,000 was the largest this season in women’s basketball, topping UConnTennessee (3,553) on Jan. 21.