As soon the game tipped off, the UConn women’s basketball team didn’t give St. John’s a single second to breathe in Wednesday’s Big East matchup at PeoplesBank Arena.
The Huskies opened the first quarter on four consecutive steals, converting each one into points for an 8-0 start on the way to an 88-43 rout. After turning the ball over on a bad pass on the opening possession, star forward Sarah Strong took it right back and brought it down herself for the layup.
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Junior point guard KK Arnold then snagged three in a row over a 40-second stretch, dishing a pair of assists to Strong and center Serah Williams while scoring on a layup of her own.
But even after St. John’s ended that run, UConn’s momentum didn’t slow. Azzi Fudd drained a 3-pointer and Arnold grabbed her fourth steal that turned into another bucket for Strong to break open a 10-point lead before the three-minute mark of the first quarter. The Huskies hit nine straight field goals before their first miss after more than five minutes of play.
Behind 46 points off 33 forced turnovers, UConn improved to 16-0 on the season and 7-0 in Big East play. Strong dominated all over the floor for the Huskies, finishing with 24 points shooting 11-for-15 on top of six steals, five assists and three rebounds.
Arnold was also at the heart of UConn’s impressive showing in her second game back from a nasal fracture that briefly sidelined her last week. The junior matched Strong with six steals, and she was second on the team in assists with four on top of 11 points. Fudd was the team’s second-leading scorer with 16 points, shooting 50% from the field and from 3-point range with a season-high six made free throws to remain perfect at the line this season. The redshirt senior also added four steals.
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The Huskies led 28-9 at the end of the first quarter, but their red-hot shooting start cooled off early in the second. While the stifling defensive effort continued, St. John’s outscored UConn 10-4 through the first five minutes of the quarter and cut its deficit to as little as 13 before the Huskies found a response. Freshman forward Blanca Quinonez checked in to give the team a spark off the bench and put points on the board seconds after checking after a steal and assist from Fudd. UConn outscored the Red Storm 18-3 over the following four and a half minutes and held them without a field goal until the final minute of the half.
Quinonez made another highlight-reel play to finish the half, dishing a no-look pass over her shoulder to Strong for a wide open three. Strong entered halftime with 19 points — more than double the team’s next highest scorer, and she and Arnold combined for 10 of the team’s 14 first-half steals.
UConn shot just 3-for-8 from the perimeter before halftime, but the team’s sharpshooters found a rhythm in the third. Junior guard Ashlynn Shade kicked off the onslaught with her first make after an 0-for-3 start from the field, and she hit another two minutes later soon after Fudd drained her second of the night. Strong also drained her second from the left wing late in the quarter, and the team shot a combined 50% beyond the arc in the third to enter the final frame with a 40-point lead.
Quinonez put up six points in the fourth quarter to finish with 14 on 7-for-12 shooting for her ninth double-digit scoring performance of the season, and the freshman also logged four steals to compensate for three turnovers. The Huskies gave the ball up just eight times as a team, tying their fewest in a game this year, and they combined for 23 steals to come just two short of their season high.
