Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Former CAC star Christyn Williams scores 1,000th point for No. 4 UConn.
TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 4 CONNECTICUT 75, NO. 18 DePAUL 52
STORRS, Conn. — Christyn Williams ( Central Arkansas Christian) scored the 1,000th point of her career on a layup that gave UConn an early 4-0 lead, then the Huskies turned to a dominant inside game and a stifling defense to pass their first test of the season against a ranked opponent.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 16 points and 14 rebounds Tuesday night to lead the Huskies to a 75-52 victory over No. 18 DePaul.
Williams finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. She was 5 of 13 from the field.
“To be able to play a game of basketball and play well when you’re not shooting the ball well, I think that’s a sign that someone is growing up as a player and evolving as a player, and I think Christyn is doing that,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said.
Freshman Paige Bueckers scored 18 points for the Huskies (6-0, 5-0 Big East), who had five players score in double figures.
“It’s really big for us, especially knowing that DePaul averages like 88 points a game and we held them to 52,” Bueckers said.
Darrione Rogers had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead DePaul (5-3, 2-1), which made 16 of 64 shots (25%), including 9 of 37 (24%) from three-point range.
“UConn is always, if not the toughest team, it’s certainly one of the one or two toughest teams we get to play against year in and year out that makes it difficult to get open looks and they did that again tonight,” DePaul Coach Doug Bruno said.
Connecticut shot 8 of 27 from behind the arc, but won the game in the paint, where it outscored DePaul 38-12. Nelson-Ododa hit 7 of 11 shots for her third double-double this season and the 12th of her career. Eight of her 14 rebounds came on the offensive end.
“Just to be able to get those second-chance opportunities, it’s really crucial, especially when the coaches really emphasize that for us,” she said.