UConn breezes past Creighton
Nelson-Ododa paces Huskies with 24 points in three quarters
STORRS — Back in October at Big East Media Day, Creighton coach Jim Flanery said he had been having nightmares about playing UConn.
Well, on Thursday, those fears became a reality.
The third-ranked Huskies gave a rude welcoming to Creighton, rolling to an 80-47 victory at Gampel Pavilion.
Junior Olivia Nelson-Ododa paced UConn with 24 points on 9-of-9 shooting — and she did it all in three quarters. Christyn Williams scored 15 points, Anna Makurat contributed 12 points, and Paige Bueckers finished with 11 to go with seven rebounds and five assists.
UConn (3-0) opened on an 8-0 run before Creighton cut the deficit to 10-7. The Huskies then ripped off 23 straight points in a span of 8:47 bridging midway through the first quarter to early in the second, before a Dearica Prior layup ended the Bluejays’ run of futility.
The Huskies led by as many as 27 in the first half (36-9), overwhelming Creighton in nearly every aspect of play. And yet Geno Auriemma, meticulous in his ways, was not satisfied, calling the Huskies — up 36-12 at and shooting 44 percent — the “Worst Shooting Team in America,” during a halftime interview on SNY.
“For all the open shots that we get that we don’t make,” Auriemma said, “at least there’s some silver lining. We’re getting open shots. At some point they’re going to go in. I’ve got to believe that, right? At some point they’re going to go in.”
They did. The Huskies were remarkably efficient in the third, going 12-of-16 from the field. They outscored Creighton 28-12, more than doubling their total from the
second (12). Nelson-Ododa had a big hand in that, scoring 14 points and making all six shots she attempted.
The Huskies led 64-32 after three. Their largest lead on the night was 40.
Thursday marked the continuation of a busy season-opening stretch for the Huskies, the third game in six days. The Huskies play Saturday too, hosting Xavier, but Auriemma doesn’t mind. It’s a welcomed break from the redundancy of practice, something the Huskies did for four months while waiting for the games to begin. Plus, Auriemma says he learns more during games, even blowouts like Thursday, than anywhere else.
If the first week of this disjointed season has taught Auriemma anything, it’s that the newest Husky, Bueckers, is as good as expected, maybe even better. Bueckers, the reigning national high school player of the year, now has 53 points through her first three games.
NOTES: Freshman Nika Muhl did not play and wore a boot on her left foot, the same one that kept her out of practice during the preseason … Four Creighton starters played with masks … Former UConn star Stefanie Dolson introduced the Huskies starting lineup.