STORRS — The UConn women’s basketball team dominated DePaul so completely on Sunday that the Huskies’ bench could have beaten the Blue Demons by themselves — literally.
Top-ranked UConn picked up its second Big East win with a 102-35 rout of DePaul at Gampel Pavilion for its largest margin of victory so far this season. It led by double digits for all but three minutes, putting on an impressive show in front of Huskies legend Sue Bird after her No. 10 jersey was retired pregame.
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“It’s hard not to be affected somehow by having somebody like that in the building,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “We talked a lot about what it means to be part of this, and how lucky and fortunate they are to be playing here on a day when this is happening. I think they took it to heart.”
Sarah Strong, playing just 17 minutes, had her fourth 20-point game of the year shooting 7-for-9 from the field, adding five rebounds, four assists and five steals. Azzi Fudd went 4-for-5 on 3-pointers to finish with 16 points, plus four steals in 21 minutes.
“I sometimes marvel at how they get the shots they get, and a lot of it has to do with their talent, their understanding of our offense and how to get open,” Auriemma said. “They’re not limited to one spot on the floor or another. … (They’re) just really, really efficient, and that means a lot more to me than anything else, any stat. None means more to me than how efficient they are in what they do.”
Sophomore guard Kayleigh Heckel joined the superstars in double digits with a career-high 16 points, plus six rebounds and five assists, and redshirt sophomore Jana El Alfy dropped a season-high 11 points, shooting 5-for-6.
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UConn’s blowout was fueled by 52 points off of 32 forced turnovers, including 23 steals, just two shy of a season-high for the team. Almost every player on the Huskies’ bench played substantial minutes, and the group combined for 48 points to outscore DePaul by 13.
“The thing that stands out was how many turnovers that we got, which created for our offense,” said junior guard KK Arnold, who tied a career high with seven assists. “I feel like that’s been our biggest thing, (figuring out) how we can create havoc to start our offensive break; to settle us in more and get us going. … The biggest thing we’ve been working on is defense and communication and rotations and things like that just all (came) together with how well we communicated tonight.”
UConn began the game on a 14-0 run, holding DePaul scoreless for more than five minutes behind a stifling defensive effort. The Huskies forced 10 turnovers in the first quarter, including three in a row during the opening run, and they also held the Blue Demons without a single rebound for more than seven minutes. Fudd and Strong both had more points than minutes played in the first quarter, and UConn was shooting 75% both from the field and from 3-point range through the first 10 minutes of play.
Auriemma went to the bench early and often after the Huskies opened up a 19-point lead at the end of the first quarter, rotating 12 of his 13 available players onto the court before halftime. The team stayed hot beyond the arc, going 4-for-4 in the second, and they held DePaul to just three points through the first seven minutes of the quarter.
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The Blue Demons finally got some points on the board with another pair of 3-pointers after Auriemma pulled all of the starters and ran bench lineups for the final four minutes of the second. But the Huskies’ reserves were still productive, combining for 21 points in the first half to outscore DePaul’s 18.
“In the second half, we really looked good (with) that group, that second unit,” Auriemma said. “The problem is we have a bunch of guys in the third unit, too, that want to play, and that’s when it becomes, ‘How do you get everybody in? How do you get all the right combinations?’ Today was one of the better days.”
Despite playing limited minutes, nearly all of the Huskies’ starters were knocking on the door of career performances at halftime. Strong was one steal shy of her personal best, and Ashlynn Shade and Arnold were both one short of their career highs in assists. Fudd was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range and two steals off of her season best.
DePaul had its highest-scoring quarter in the third and gave up a game-low four turnovers, but the Huskies maintained their massive lead behind six points from senior center Serah Williams and another five from Strong. The starting five didn’t see the court for a single minute in the fourth, and UConn continued to dominate, outscoring DePaul, 21-4. Eleven different players scored for UConn, and though redshirt senior Caroline Ducharme was scoreless, she was the team’s second-leading rebounder with five plus a steal.
