Sports: Top-ranked UConn women rout Marquette, 73-39, to win Big East tourney title
Following a seven-year absence, top-ranked UConn is back home ...and back on top
UConn 73 Marquette 39
Mohegan — UConn coach Geno Auriemma stood on the sidelines directing his defense in the third quarter Monday night, moving junior Christyn Williams to just the right location on the floor to get a steal.
Auriemma was then Williams' biggest cheerleader as she turned the steal into a layup at the other end of the floor, as the top-seeded Huskies, with a commanding defensive performance once again, cruised to a 73-39 victory over No. 2 Marquette in the Big East Conference tournament championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Freshman Paige Bueckers finished with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists to earn
Most Outstanding Player honors and Williams had 16 points and guarded Marquette's Selena Lott — who scored 27 the night before in the Golden Eagles' semifinal victory over Creighton — to join Bueckers on the All-Tournament Team. UConn's Olivia Nelson-Ododa was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
Nika Muhl added 11 points and Aaliyah Edwards a team-high eight rebounds for UConn (24-1), the top-ranked team in the nation. Camryn Taylor scored 11 points for Marquette (19-6).
It was UConn's eighth straight league tournament title, including 2014-20 in the American Athletic Conference, and 26th overall. It marked the Huskies' first Big East tournament appearance since 2013 and their first Big East tournament title since 2012 when they toppled Notre Dame 63-54.
UConn defeated Marquette in its regular-season finale March 1 at Gampel Pavilion, outlasting the Golden Eagles in a slug fest, 63-53. The frontcourt tandem of Nelson-Ododa (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Edwards (16 points, 8 rebounds) lifted the Huskies to that victory.
This time, UConn led Marquette 41-23 at halftime, behind 13 points from Bueckers.
At one point the Huskies led 27-6, putting together a 13-0 run over 1:52 in which Bueckers, Muhl and Evina Westbrook each connected for 3-pointers, Williams ran a fast break while dribbling behind her back and Edwards stole a Marquette pass and took it the length of the floor for a layup.