Huskies stay unbeaten
UConn passes its first big test on defense to stop Villanova
The UConn women’s basketball team was handed its biggest test on defense to date — at least on paper. Without question, they passed. The third-ranked Huskies put the clamps on Villanova star Maddie Siegrist, and shut down the previously unbeaten Wildcats, 90-52 on Tuesday night at Finneran Pavilion.
Forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa overcame foul trouble to score 19 points, matching freshman Paige Bueckers for the team lead. Junior Christyn Williams added 17.
Evina Westbrook turned in her best performance to date as a Husky, filing the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists across 37 minutes. Her defense on Villanova star Maddie Siegrist was equally as valuable.
“We’ve asked her to do a lot,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said on SNY. “She’s just coming off (knee) surgery. … I told E, and Paige and Christyn that they were going to have to play a lot of minutes tonight, and they played a lot of minutes. …
“I think that was (Evina’s) best all-around game since she’s been at Connecticut.”
Siegrist, the three-time Big East player of the week, scored 15 points — well below her season average of 24.4 — and had to work hard to get them. She was just 6-of-22 from the field.
It was the first loss for Villanova
(7-1) and coach Denise Dillon, who replaced the legendary Harry Perretta in March. The Wildcats were the last remaining unbeaten in the Big East besides UConn (5-0).
Tuesday’s game was the Huskies’ fifth in 11 days before a six-day holiday break. They will return to action next Tuesday against No. 18 DePaul at home — their first ranked opponent of the season.
Brianna Herlihy hit a
3-pointer out of the gate, marking UConn’s first deficit of the season. The Huskies, however, answered with an 8-0 run later in the quarter to take a 20-13 lead. Twice Villanova got back within one, but the Huskies closed the half on a 10-0 run for a 42-29 lead. The Wildcats didn’t score over the final 3:28 and shot 34 percent for the half.
And yet Auriemma wasn’t satisfied, saying during an halftime interview with SNY, “I told you guys we (stunk) on defense. You didn’t believe me.”
UConn broke things
open to begin the second half, using a 10-0 spurt to push it to 52-31. Eight of those points came from Nelson-Ododa.
EDWARDS SIDELINED
Forward Aaliyah Edwards did not play after spraining her right ankle during Monday’s practice. The freshman, who wore a boot on the foot during Tuesday’s game, is UConn’s leading scorer off the bench (10.0 PPG).