UConn women’s basketball held on to beat the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals 79-66 in the Armed Forces Classic at the US Naval Academy on Tuesday.
The Huskies led 25-9 at the end of the first quarter but were out-scored 57-54 the rest of the way. They led by as many as 25 in the fourth quarter before Louisville roared back to cut the gap to 10 with 2:22 remaining. From there, UConn scored three straight baskets to seal the victory.
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Sarah Strong led the team with 21 points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals. Azzi Fudd hit 20 points while Kayleigh Heckel (14 points) and KK Arnold (13 points) also reached double figures.
UConn only shot 4-26 (15.4 percent) from three.
The Huskies jumped on the Cardinals from the opening tip. They started the game on an 8-0 run, made eight of their first 11 shots and held Louisville without a basket for the first 4:43. UConn’s offense flowed with little resistance, led by nine points in the opening frame by Arnold. Meanwhile, the defense made life miserable for the Cardinals, who shot 3-18 through the first 10 minutes.
The second quarter wasn’t nearly as dominant. Louisville scored nine points in the opening four minutes, which cut the Huskies’ lead down to 12. From there, UConn wrested control back by scoring 10 of the next 12 points and ultimately took a 44-23 lead into the half.
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The Huskies collectively struggled out of the locker room. They made 7-22 shots in the third quarter while committing five fouls, which allowed the Cardinals to take (and make) eight free throws. UConn’s lead remained at 21 entering in the final period.
Back-to-back baskets from Fudd and Heckel extended the Huskies’ advantage to 25 early in the fourth before Louisville started to chip away. The gap had shrunk to 20 when the Cardinals ripped off a 10-0 run that cut UConn’s lead to 73-63 with 2:22 remaining. Strong stopped the bleeding with two straight buckets and Fudd added another with 28 ticks left to end any hopes of a comeback bid.
In the end, the Huskies came out with a 13-point victory to improve to 1-0 on the new season. Next, they’ll raise the 2025 national championship banner in the home opener against Florida State on Sunday, Nov. 9. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. ET from Gampel Pavilion.
