The UConn women’s basketball team was always going to be an outmatched opponent for Southern Connecticut State, but the Huskies’ defense opened Sunday’s exhibition game at PeoplesBank Arena with unprecedented dominance.
UConn gave up just five points in the first quarter and 16 in the first half en route to a 105-39 victory over the Owls. The Huskies held Southern Connecticut without points for the last seven minutes of the opening quarter on an 23-0 run, and it took the Owls another three and a half minutes of the second to finally get back on the board.
UConn finished the game with 32 forced turnovers, including 24 off steals, and it converted Southern Connecticut’s mistakes into 36 points.
“That’s a big focal point for our team is being that aggressor on defense, which will create for more of our transition game and more of our offensive game,” junior point guard KK Arnold said. “That really starts our energy. That’s been the biggest focal point in practice and translating that to the game is our defensive pressure.”
👉 Book your quote now. Every shoreline yard is starting to show it — the heavy blanket of leaves, the […]
🍂 Fall’s Here — and So Are the Leaves
The Huskies put together an impressively balanced effort on both ends of the floor with 13 players scoring and 48 total points from the bench. Sophomore Morgan Cheli is still unavailable due to an ankle injury, and freshman Gandy Malou-Mamel was also inactive on Sunday after she “got whacked pretty good” in practice, but the team’s entire available roster got minutes in the win.
Here’s what we learned about UConn in its final tune-up before it opens the season Nov. 4 against No. 20 Louisville:
Azzi Fudd’s confidence on display
It took Fudd a while to get going in UConn’s first exhibition against Boston College on Oct. 13, but the Huskies star didn’t have a moment of hesitation against the Owls. She scored the team’s first two field goals of the game on back-to-back possessions, and she led UConn with eight points shooting 3-for-4 less than five minutes into the first quarter.
Fudd’s hot hand never cooled off, and she entered halftime with a team-high 14 points shooting 4-for-7 from 3-point range. She added a fifth make from beyond the arc in the second half to finish with 21 points, a nearly-identical stat line to the one she put together against Boston College. The redshirt senior also logged four assists, and she had another strong defensive showing with five steals.
Young guards step up
Allie Ziebell played just six and a half minutes in the first half of the exhibition, and she made the most of them. The sophomore guard hit her first 3-pointer almost as soon as she got on the court, and she entered halftime with 10 points shooting 66.7% from the field and 2-for-4 on 3-pointers. Ziebell was aggressive on both ends of the floor, finishing with 13 points and adding a block to her stat line.
“The things that she’s good at are the things that she did today,” coach Geno Auriemma said postgame. “That’s kind of who she is … She’s a really good shooter. She’s pretty smart. She’s quicker than she looks at getting to that first step by you, and she’s smart defensively.”
Sophomore guard Kayleigh Heckel looked far more comfortable on Sunday than she did in the first exhibition. The USC transfer was a defensive menace with four steals, and she recorded 7 points shooting 3-for-6 from the field on top of three assists and three rebounds. It was clear at times that Heckel is still learning UConn’s system, but there was no massive drop-off when she replaced starting point guard KK Arnold.
Freshman guard Kelis Fisher also seemed more settled in her second collegiate game. Though she only hit a single field goal in her 13 minutes on the court, her play was far more controlled and she gave up just two turnovers without a foul against her. She finished with five points on two field goal attempts and shot 100% at the free throw line.
“In the flow of the game and what comes next, they’ve gotten better at that,” Auriemma said. “They all have strengths that I really like, and they have strengths that really, really are going to help us. I want to help them with other parts of the game, so come April they’re a little more well-rounded.”
Huskies run lineup experiments
Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams seems secured as UConn’s starting center, but the senior played just six minutes in the first half as coach Geno Auriemma played with a dozen different lineups. The Huskies coach ran multiple guard-heavy lineups before halftime including a brief stretch with his four best 3-point shooters plus another comfortable outside scorer in freshman forward Blanca Quinonez. Heckel, Fisher and Arnold shared the floor in various combinations, giving the team multiple primary ball-handlers on the court alongside Fudd and Strong, who are both highly competent passers.
UConn also tested out combinations with its versatile frontcourt group, running Quinonez and sophomore star Sarah Strong everywhere from center to the wing. Strong finished with a near-triple double logging 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists plus two blocks and two steals. Quinonez still showed some freshman growing pains, but she put up 12 points, three blocks and three steals to soften her team-high six turnovers.
“Some groups look better than others,” Auriemma said. “If we have the wrong combinations out there, someone who’s really, really good won’t look as good, so practice has been a lot of that. That doesn’t mean that this player is better than that player. We just have to put them out there with certain combinations that make them look good.”
Dom Amore: Azzi Fudd ‘owning her space’ to begin her last dance with UConn women