Scoring spoiler
Defense has been UConn’s calling card
Marquette couldn’t find a way through for 14 minutes — including the entire fourth quarter.
Georgetown also failed. The Hoyas had four turnovers before making their first bucket.
UConn women’s basketball’s defense was its biggest and best weapon throughout the Big East Tournament while it played shorthanded with just seven available players.
Because of the lack of available scorers all year (five players out with season-ending injuries), Huskies coach Geno Auriemma has preached that defense ignites offense. That was the case all year long and will continue heading into the NCAA Tournament.
“I don’t know that it could have been any better,” Auriemma said after UConn’s Big East Tournament semifinal win over Marquette. “It was difficult for them to get the looks that they wanted and when those looks did materialize, it was a rush for them. … I think the fact that we came out the way we did, and we kept the pressure on, it made every jump shot, every shot that they took crucial for them. And it’s hard to go through a whole game like that.”
KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade frustrate defenders with their constant mirroring and quick feet on defense. Everywhere their assignment goes, they follow. Their faces locked in on nothing else but the ball. They stretch out their hands into the personal space of opponents with the goal to annoy them by being continuously pesky.
Arnold, UConn’s smallest player at 5-foot-9, leads the team in steals. While she often plays offense at a high, fast pace, she’s able to slow the game down on
defense. She’ll watch an opponent take a couple dribbles before she knows exactly when and where to reach in and poke out the ball. Arnold’s speed helps her chase down and pounce on the loose ball, either grabbing it and running it down for a fast break or forcing a jump ball. The freshman averages 2.3 steals per game and is No. 24 in the nation with 78 total on the season.
“Just basically not letting them set up the offense, really just disrupt them,” Arnold said of her mentality on defense. “Don’t let them run their offense because that (lets) them get settled in. So, getting that disruption helps us on the offensive end as well, pushing the ball getting to our layups, transition and everything.”
Fellow point guards Paige Bueckers and Nika Mühl also have the ability, but nothing is as impressive as when 6-3 forward Aaliyah Edwards tips away the ball off a dribble and hustles down to grab it and scores at the other end. She averages 1.7 steals per game.
Bueckers, a 6-foot point guard, has slid over into a power forward role this year and has thrived. She does it all, yes, but it’s her growth on defense that’s highlighted her season thus far. She’s become a force under the basket, learning how to demand a presence with physicality. Her outstretched arms ready to cloud a player’s open-look and tip away shots. She’s got both tireless strength and impeccable court vision to perfectly time her leap up to block away shots one after another.
The redshirt junior leads UConn with 47 blocks, 1.4 per game. While those numbers rank her 59th in the nation, she’s the fourth-best guard on the list. Her 47 are a new career-high and are more than tripled from than her previous best of 11 from both her freshman and sophomore seasons. Bueckers set her singlegame career highs in blocks (5, hitting the mark twice) and steals (6) this season.
While each individual Husky bring their own talents to the defensive, it’s their combined communication and effort that makes team so hard to get through.
Mühl and Ice Brady constantly yell out switches on defensive assignments the second an opponent flinches in a new direction. The Huskies become instantly ready with a new defender on the ball, undeterred from any screen. An opponent is hardly left alone, nor open, for long before they’re swarmed by a Husky defender and bullied for the ball. That forcefulness was most evident in the second half of Sunday’s semifinal when UConn outscored Marquette 27-9 in the second half.
“I think the biggest thing was our communication,” Bueckers said. “The way we talk, the way prepared in our shoot around. Marquette is a really disciplined team and the offense that they run, so for us it was trying to disrupt what they’re comfortable with and try to get in passing lanes, deny their shooters.”
UConn kept an opponent scoreless for just over 19 minutes across its Big East Tournament semifinal and championship games. It outscored Marquette 11-0 in the fourth quarter on Sunday for the program’s third time shutting out an opponent for a full quarter. The Golden Eagles only scored in double-digits in the second quarter.
The Huskies rank No. 12 in the nation in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 35.7 percent by taking away openlooks and forcing turnovers.
They forced Georgetown into 17 turnovers in Monday’s title game after forcing Providence into 19 during Saturday’s quarterfinals. UConn has forced an opponent into 17 turnovers or more in four of its last five games. This season, opponents are averaging 17.1 turnovers when up against UConn’s defense.
“It’s what we take pride in and what we think our strongest suit is in our game,” Bueckers said. “I think we’ve tried to let our defense dictate the wins and then our offense dictate how much we win by. So, it’s definitely what we’ve been focusing on and know that if our defense is great, the better we’ll play on offense as well. That’s just been the key point going into the tournament.”
UConn’s defense carried it throughout the Big East Tournament while it played shorthanded. But the NCAA Tournament is a different beast. Teams are more competitive and bring new looks the Huskies haven’t necessarily seen yet this year. Plus, as always, there’s a target on UConn’s back come March in which every team dreams of knocking out the Huskies early.
Will the Huskies’ defense be able to keep its season alive? Return the program back to the Final Four?
The first sign will be on Sunday when UConn finds out its placement in the NCAA Tournament bracket during the Selection Show on ESPN (8 p.m.).