Win over SMU highlights Huskies’ defensive potential
STORRS — History said it’d be easy. The UConn women had won all nine meetings with SMU by an average of 47.7 points. Included in that was an 80-36 rout last February, in which the Huskies scored a ridiculous 43 straight points.
While the Huskies didn’t produce any mind-numbing statistics Wednesday against SMU, they did leave Gampel Pavilion with a familiar result — a convincing 79-39 victory before a crowd of 9,402.
With the win, the Huskies improved to 17-1 on the season, including 6-0 in American Athletic Conference play.
Here’s five takeaways on another rout of SMU:
⏩ AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME: Geno Auriemma has said it ad nauseam. Without Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams, the Huskies have taken a step back defensively.
While that’s certainly true, Wednesday’s performance — albeit against one of the youngest teams in the country in SMU — offered a glimpse of what these Huskies are capable of.
They pressed, they trapped, and they turned
the Mustangs over. The Huskies had perhaps their best defensive showing of the season, forcing 24 turnovers and committing 16 steals.
SMU shot only 26 percent and failed to crack doubledigits in scoring in two separate quarters.
⏩ LEADING THE WAY: Napheesa Collier recorded 22 points, eight rebounds and six blocks and Katie Lou Samuelson finished with 21 points and five assists.
That’ll be enough to get the Huskies by most, if not all, nights in the AAC. SMU was no exception. Collier and Samuelson combined for 30 points in the first half, nearly doubling the Mustangs’ scoring output (14).
⏩WAITING GAME: The Huskies are waiting, waiting for Christyn Williams to snap out of her funk and morph back into the player who wowed them earlier this season.
While Williams was aggressive, attempting 10 shots (third-most on the team), she wasn’t all that productive. The freshman had 12 points, four of which came on a pair of layups in the final two minutes.
The Huskies are hoping to see more consistency from the top recruit in last year’s class.
⏩ ON THE BOARDS: Auriemma, a consummate perfectionist, felt the Huskies took too many 3-pointers (30) and were underwhelming on the boards.
It’s hard to find faults in the Huskies — they are, after all, ranked third in the country, with a road win over No. 1 Notre Dame to boot — but their play in the paint still bears watching.
The Huskies — who were out-rebounded 48-37 by SMU — will face one of the better rebounding teams in the conference in UCF on Sunday. ⏩ YOU DIDN’T MISS MUCH: SMU attempted 16 shots in the fourth quarter, missing 15 of them. UConn wasn’t much better during that stretch, going 4-of-12 from the field and outscoring their opponent 8-4.
It was UConn’s least productive quarter of the season. And it meant, well, absolutely nothing.