Key stats from victory over Georgetown
STORRS — Despite injuries to Paige Bueckers and Anna Makurat, No. 3 UConn cruised past Georgetown 72-41 on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion.
Here are five key numbers from the victory.
2
Made 3-pointers by Olivia Nelson-Ododa. She has long talked about expanding her game to include 3-point shooting. In her first two seasons, the 6-foot-5 center attempted only seven shots from beyond the arc, missing all of them.
But it’s been a different story so far her junior year. She made both her 3-point tries against Georgetown, doubling her career total, and is 3 for 8 overall in 2020-21.
Should this continue, it’ll not only help space the floor, but also make NelsonOdoda’s game more potent. The same is true of sophomore Aubrey Griffin, who is 2 of 18 in her career from 3.
The Huskies are currently averaging six made 3-pointers a game, but coach Geno Auriemma would prefer that number be closer to 10.
10
Free throws attempted by Griffin. The 6-1 forward was again one of the most active Huskies on offense, shooting 7 of 10 from the free-throw line, while her teammates combined to go 4 of 5. Griffin’s 32 attempts on the season are second to only Nelson-Ododa (46), and that’s despite having played significantly fewer minutes than any of the other current starters.
20
Assists by UConn. Without Bueckers and Makurat, two of their better passers, the Huskies’ offense appeared stagnant at times, with little off-ball movement and too much isolation. In Bueckers’ absence, fellow freshman Nika Muhl (six points and five turnovers) received her first start but struggled.
Auriemma called it a “horrendous basketball game to watch” because of the “choppiness” of play, and seemed surprised that the Huskies had as many assists as they did.
22
Turnovers forced by UConn. Despite forcing 22 turnovers, the Huskies’ defense was far from perfect. In fact, Auriemma felt their performance on that side of the ball was a step down from Thursday’s win over No. 25 Tennessee. He’s still not satisfied with how the Huskies communicate defensively. Nelson-Ododa agreed: “I think (our defense) was messy. At times we had really good stops and we had great traps and high intensity, but other times it was lacking.”
1,101
Career wins by Auriemma (1,101-142). He’s now back to four wins behind the all-time record held by Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer. The Cardinal lost their second straight game since their 11-0 start, 70-66 to UCLA on Friday.