UConn HC Geno Auriemma on Huskies getting ‘really tested’ vs. Tennessee appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
No. 1 UConn women’s basketball completed its final nonconference test of the regular season with a 96-66 rout of No. 15 Tennessee at PeoplesBank Arena, but in head coach Geno Auriemma’s view, the scoreline was secondary — the real takeaway was how his team handled being tested. The undefeated Huskies encountered fierce resistance but took charge in the second half with a suffocating onslaught.
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Through UConn’s first 22 games, the Huskies had reached halftime with double-digit leads in 21 of them. Against the Lady Vols, that trend ended. After jumping out to a 21-5 advantage in the opening seven minutes and leading by as many as 16 in the first quarter, the Huskies let Tennessee back into the game. The Vols outscored UConn 35-15 over a 12-minute stretch bridging the first and second quarters, using constant substitutions and full-court pressure to force turnovers and speed the Huskies up. Tennessee led by four late in the second quarter, but UConn closed the half with the final points to enter intermission tied 42-42, the Huskies’ first halftime tie of the season.
“I think had it been a 30-point lead at halftime, I would have been really, really disappointed,” Auriemma said postgame. “You play these games to be really tested, to find out a little bit about what your team is made of. … It’s good that you have to kind of regroup and find yourself.”
The Huskies outscored the Vols 54-24 in the second half, turning a close contest into the most lopsided result in the history of the rivalry.
With UConn holding a slim lead in the third quarter, a 14-0 run to close the period broke the game open. Sarah Strong got things going with a three-point play, and the Huskies kept cutting through Tennessee’s pressure for layups and open shots. Ziebell brought the flurry to its end with a three-pointer before the buzzer, pushing the lead to 71-53. The Vols remained mute on the scoreboard for the final 4:45 of the quarter.
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Azzi Fudd and Strong powered the performance. Fudd finished with 27 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals, while Strong recorded 26 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Together, they combined for 53 points and led UConn to 58% shooting from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The Huskies committed only five turnovers in the second half after coughing it up 10 times before the break.
UConn’s bench strength didn’t go unnoticed. Serah Williams put up a season-high 12 points with five rebounds, Ashlynn Shade contributed 10 points and five assists, Ziebell scored 10, and Kayleigh Heckel chipped in eight points, five rebounds, and three assists. The Huskies scored 36 points off Tennessee’s 20 turnovers and won the rebounding battle as part of a 39-game winning streak that dates back nearly a full calendar year.
Furthermore, the 30-point victory was the largest margin ever in the series and the second-worst loss in the Vols’ program history. UConn improved to 23-0 and kept its streak alive, winning 18 straight games by at least 25 points, the longest such run by a Division I team in the past 25 seasons. The Huskies will now return to Big East play, beginning with a road game at DePaul on Wednesday.
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