UConn women’s basketball shrugged off a bad first half to stave off an upset bid and beat the Villanova Wildcats on Wednesday night, 83-69. With the win, the Huskies clinch the Big East regular season title — their sixth in a row, 25th in the league and 32nd overall.
For the first time all year, UConn went into halftime behind. The Huskies trailed for 16:10 of the opening 20 minutes — longer than they’d been down in any contest this season. Then they opened the second half on a 6-0 run to take the lead for good and ultimately outscored the hosts 46-29 over the final two quarters.
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Azzi Fudd led UConn with 25 points, scoring seven of its first 13 points before hitting a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game on the first possession of the second half. Sarah Strong dealt with foul trouble but still put up 21 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and four assists. Ashlynn Shade was indispensable — especially in the first half — finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Blanca Quiñonez returned after missing the last six games with a shoulder injury. She played 18 minutes, recording four points and four steals but also showed obvious signs of rust with four turnovers and three fouls.
The Huskies’ trend of slow starts continued. Their offense struggled to find a groove and committed eight turnovers in the opening quarter while the defense either forced a giveaway or gave up an easy bucket. UConn took its first lead on a 3-pointer from Strong at the 5:41 mark of the first period but Villanova pulled back ahead less than a minute later.
The Wildcats went up by five — their largest lead of the night — before the Huskies responded with 12 of the next 17 points to go back on top. Despite the burst, Villanova eventually pushed the gap back out to five and ended up going into the locker room up 40-37.
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Out of the break, UConn finally woke up. Fudd started the Huskies off with a 3-pointer followed by layups from Strong and KK Arnold. Although Strong picked up her fourth foul and went to the bench with 5:48 left in the frame, Serah Williams stepped up in her place. She put together her best quarter in a UConn uniform, totaling six points, two offensive rebounds, a block and a steal — all of which were timely.
The Huskies outscored the Wildcats 26-12 in the period and took a 63-52 lead into the fourth quarter. UConn then pushed the advantage out to as many as 21 before Villanova put up 11 of the final 15 points in garbage time. Despite their struggles, the Huskies came away with a 14-point win.
UConn improves to 28-0 overall and 17-0 in the Big East. Next, the Huskies will return home for senior day on Sunday, when they take on Providence from Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is set for noon on FS1.
